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WORKS ON FOUNDING. 

PUBLISHED BY 

JOHN WILEY & SONS. 



THE IRON FOUNDER. 

By Simpson BoUaiid, Esq,, Practical Iron Founder. The contents comprise 
Core-Making, Loam Moulding, Dry Sand Moulding, Green Sand Moulding, 
with Miscellaneous Items, Recipes. Tables, etc., etc. 400 pp., 12mo, cloth, $3.50 

"THE IRON FOUNDER" SUPPLEMENT. 

A Complete Illustrated Exposition of the Art of Casting in Iron. Comprising 
the Erection and Management of Cupolas, Reverberatory Furnaces, Blowers, 
Dams, Ladles, etc. ; Mixing Cast Iron ; Founding of Chilled Car Wheels ; 
Malleable Iron Castings ; Foundry Equipments and Appliances ; Gear Mould- 
ing Machines; Moulding Machines; Burning, Chilling, Softening; Annealing; 
Pouring and Feeding; Foundry Materials ; Advanced Moulding; Measurement 
of Castings; Wrought Iron, Steel, etc.; also. The Founding of Statues; The 
Art of Taking Casts ; Pattern Modelling ; Useful Formulas and Tables. By- 
Simpson Bolland, Practical Moulder and Manager of Foundries; Author of 
"The Iron Founder," etc. Illustrated with over Two Hundred Engravings. 
400 pages 12mo, cloth, $2.50 

ENCYCLOPEDIA OF FOUNDING AND DICTIONARY OF FOUNDRY 
TERMS USED IN THE PRACTICE OF MOULDING. 

By Simpson Bolland. 12mo, cloth (in preparation). 

AMERICAN FOUNDRY PRACTICE. 

Treating of Loam, Dry Sand and Green Sand Moulding, and Containing a 
Practical Treatise upon the Management of Cupolas, and the Melting of Iron. 
Bv Thomas D. West, Practical Iron Moulder and Foundrv Foreman. Fully- 
Illustrated. Ninth edition Il2mo, cloth, $2.50 

MOULDER'S TEXT-BOOK, BEING PART II. OF AMERICAN 
FOUNDRY PRACTICE. 

A Practical Treatise on IMoulding, discussing the question of Economy in 
Casting, and the arrangement of a Foundry in regard to rapid work. Treating 
of Cupolas, Methods of Firing, Best Means of Securing Perfect and Sound 
Castings, etc., being a continuation of Vol. I. on this subject, and dealing with 
a class of work requiring more skill and greater care. By Thomas D. West. 
With numerous illustrations. Seventh edition 12mo, cloth, $2.5G 

MACHINERY PATTERN MAKING. 

A Discussion of Methods, including Marking and Recording Patterns, Printing 
Press, Slice Valve and Corliss Cylinders ; How to Cast Journal-boxes on Frames, 
Differential Pulleys,' Fly-wheels, Engine Frames, Spur, Bevel and Worm 
Gears, Key Heads for Motion Rods, Elbows and Tee Pipes, Sweeping Straight 
and Conical Grooved Winding Drums, Large Sheaves with Wrought and Cast- 
iron Arms, 128 full-size Profiles of Gear Te'eth of different pitches for Gears of 
14 to 800 Teeth, with a Table showing at a glance the required diameter of Gear 
for a given number of teeth and pitch. Double Beat, Governor, and Plug 
Valves, Screw Propellor, a chapter on items for Pattern Makers, besides a 
number of valuable and useful Tables, etc., etc. 417 illustrations. By P. S. 

Dingey, Foreman Pattern Maker and Draughtsman 12mo, cloth, $2.00 

"A neat little work that should be not only in the hands of every pattern maker, but read 
by every foundry foreman and proprietor of foundries doing machinery work." 

—Machinery Mou'defs Journal. 



\J 



THE 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OE EOUNDING 

AND 

USED iJSr THE PRACTICE OE MOULDING. 

TOGETHER WITH A DESCRIPTION OF THE TOOLS, MECHANICAL APPLI- 
ANCES, MATERIALS, AND METHODS EMPLOYED TO PRODUCE 
CASTINGS IN ALL THE USEFUL METALS AND THEIR 
ALLOYS, INCLUDING BRASS, BRONZE, STEEL, BELL, 
IRON, AND TYPE FOUNDING ; WITH MANY 
ORIGINAL MIXTURES OF RECOG- 
NIZED VALUE IN THE 
MECHANIC ARTS. 

ALSO 
ALUMINUM, PLATING, GILDING, SILVERING, DIPPING, LACQUERING, 
STAINING, BRONZING, TINNING, GALVANIZING, BRtTANNIA- 
WARE, GERMAN-SILVER, NICKEL, SOLDERING, BRAZ- 
ING, ORES, SMELTING, REFINING, 
ASSAYING, ETC. 



SIMPSON BOLLAND, 

Practical Moulder and Manager of Foundries ; 
Author of " The Iron Founder,'' " The Iron Founder Siqjplement,'' etc. 



FIRST EDITION. 

FIRST THOUSAND. 




NEW YORK : 

JOHN WILEY & SONS, 

53 East Tenth Street. 

1894. 



r 






3" 






Copyright, 1894, 

BY 

Simpson Bolland. 



) 



j^^.vynr'feAj -- 



7 



PREFACE. 



The ordinary dictionaries and encyclopa3dias of general 
literature, and even those of the arts and sciences, contain 
but few notices of foundry terms; and where these do 
occur, the explanations are in many instances very meagre, 
and often wide of the mark, showing either a limited 
knowledge of the subjects treated or a want of appreciation 
of their importance to the practical moulder, as well as to 
others who need information on such topics. 

If this work helps to supply this deficiency the author 
will be well rewarded. Opportunity has been taken 
throughout its pages to introduce words which, until 
lately, had apparently no connection with the founder's 
art, and in the explanation of which special care has been 
observed to explain their meaning by such methods of 
illustration as will bring them into direct association with 
the whole science of founding particularly. 

It is with this view that names of minerals, metals, 
and chemicals have been inserted, the author believing 
that, remote as some of them may appear, they all have 
a bearing, direct or indirect, upon the general business of 
founding at this day, and should receive at least as much 
attention as has been accorded them. 



iV PREFACE. 

The treatment of brass founding, etc., is a reflex of tlie 
author^s life-experience largely; and whenever it has been 
thought proper to consult the chemist, metallurgist, or 
meclianical engineer, the best authorities on these subjects 
have been chosen. 

Simpson Bollakd. 

New York, May, 1894. 



THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OP FOUNDING. 



A« Agate. 

Acetate. — A salt formed by the union of acetic acid 
with a suhfiable base ; as, the acetate of copper, the acetate 
of silver, etc. 

Acetic Acid. — If vinous fermentation is not checked 
ill due time, it passes at once to the stage of acetous fer- 
mentation, and the liquid becomes sour ; oxygen is ab- 
sorbed, and the alcohol converted into vinegar, or acetic 
acid. See Pitch. 

Adliesion. — This is a force which unites dissimilar 
bodies, and is exerted between substances of all kinds. 
The sticking of blackening to mould-surfaces, loam to 
bricks, glue to wood, etc., are well-known examples of 
adhesive force. See Agglutikatiok. 

Agate. — This stone is an aggregate of siliceous sub- 
stances, the character and color of which is maintained in 
the mass. Agate is composed of chalcedony, quartz, ame- 
thyst, carnelian, jasper, common opal, etc., with all their 
varying colors. Its hardness and beauty have brought it 
into great demand both for useful and ornamental pur- 
poses. See Stone j Precious Stones. 



Alkali. 4 Allowance. 

phorons, the essential oils, resins, gum-resins, wax, sper- 
maceti, biliary calculi, etc., are, in different proportions, 
soluble in alcohol. Tiie substances which are insoluble in 
alcohol are the alkaline carbonates; all the sulphates; soma 
of the nitrates and muriates, metals; metallic oxides, and 
metallic acids ; all the pure earths; the fixed oils, unless 
when united to alkalies, or converted into drying oils by 
metallic oxides; muscular fibre; the coagulum of blood; and 
albumen. Alcohol is highly combustible, producing intense 
heat without smoke, and for this reason is well adapted to 
burn in lamps for chemical and other uses. See Fuel. 

Alkali. — Alkalies in their pure state possess the fol- 
lowing general properties ; to the taste they are caustic 
and acrid ; they dissolve animal matter, and form a sapo- 
naceous compound with oils or fat; they combine with 
acids in definite proportions, but the respective properties 
of each are destroyed, and a neutral salt is the result. It 
is on this account that most metals are precipitated from 
their acid solutions by the introduction of an alkali. The 
most important alkalies are potash, ammonia, and soda — 
ammonia being soluble, while potash and soda are termed 
fixed alkalies. See Peecipitation". 

Allowance. — A foundry phrase, of general applica- 
tion. For example: some portion of a mould or core is 
scraped or filed away to prevent actual contact of two fri- 
able surfaces when closing a mould is called alloiuance, or 
clea7'ance. A small proportion of zinc, over and above the 
recognized formula, to compensate for what is lost by 
volatilization during the process of mixing, is alloiuance. 
In fact, anything performed with the view of minimizing 
the possibilities of destroying the result of his labor, is 
recognized by the moulder as making allowance for such 
contingencies. 



Alloys. o Alloys. 

Alloys. — A combination or mixture of two or more 
metals. Metals combine with metals to form alloys, and 
each compound may be looked upon, for many purposes, as 
a new metal. Alloys are always more fusible than the most 
infusible metal of which they are composed. A metal of 
low fusibility, when melted in contact with one of high 
fusibility, causes the latter also to melt, thus acting as a 
flux. This principle is employed in soldering, or the join- 
ing of two metals by means of a third. See Soldering. 

In fact, no alloy composed of two metals, as copper and 
zinc, or copper and tin, either files or turns with the same 
facility as when a third metal is added to the alloy in suit- 
able proportions. Lead added to copper and zinc, and zinc 
to copper and tin, will effect this purpose. 

It should always be borne in mind that, in making alloys, 
the more infusible metals should be melted first; and in 
order that the admixture should be perfect, mechanical 
agitation must be effected by constant stirring with an in- 
fusible rod, or repeated pouring from one ladle or crucible 
to another. The surface of the metal should also be care- 
fully protected while in a fluid state from the oxidizing 
influence of the atmosphere. Ordinarily, resin, pitch, or 
wax will answer this pui-pose for all alloys having a low 
fusing-point; but for such as have a high fusing-point, 
borax, pounded glass, charcoal, or salt will answer. See 
Flux. 

Not many of the metals may be used by the founder 
without some alloy, and the following represent nearly 
all that are employed alone, viz., iron, copper, lead, tin, 
zinc, gold, silver, mercury, platinum, aluminum. Some 
are entirely too brittle to be used alone, but may be used 
for imparting hardness to other metals. Among these may 
be mentioned bismutli, arsenic, antimony, etc. But even 
copper may not bo employed alone for castings, as such 
castings are invariably unsound, and are difficult to file or 



Alum. 



6 Alum. 



machine; yet a suitable proportion of zinc alloyed with it 
renders it not only sound in the casting, but capable of 
being either machined, rolled, or hammered, and which 
constitutes, according to the amount of zinc used, many 
different kinds of the most useful alloy known, viz., hr^ass. 
See Brass. 

Some of the changes produced by alloying are of great 
importance in the arts and manufactures, as many of the 
alloys produced are more valuable on account of their 
newly-acquired properties than any of the simple metals 
which enter into the composition. 

Strange as it may appear, a quarter of a grain of lead 
will render an ounce of gold perfectly brittle, although 
neither of the metals composing the alloy are brittle ones. 

Some metals which will not combine together immedi- 
ately may be united by the intervention of a third fusible 
alloy. Thus, mercury will not combine directly with iron, 
but if tin or zinc be first added to the ii'on, an amalgam 
may be formed of it with mercury (see Mercury; Amal- 
gam). When mercury is united with another metal the 
compound is called an amalgam. 

One remarkable feature in this connection is that alloys 
are, as a rule, more easily oxidized than their component 
metals. For example, it only requires to heat an alloy of 
tin and lead to redness, when it will at once unite with the 
oxygen, or take fire and burn. (All the alloys and metals 
of importance will be explained under their several names.) 
See Fluid Alloy; Fusible Alloy. 

Alvim, or sulphate of alumina and potash, is a triple 
salt of great importance in the arts and manufactures. 
Sometimes it is found native, but it is chiefly manufactured 
artificially from alum-slate. A large quantity is prepared 
in this country by treating alumina or clay with sulphuric 
acid, and after the lapse of a few months adding potash. 



Aluminum. « Aluminum. 

The whole is then leached and the alnm separated from the 
solution by crystallization. It is of great importance in dye- 
ing, in the manufacture of leather, and in calico-printing. 
Alum is soluble in 16 parts of water at G0°, and in three- 
fourths of its weight of boiling water; its composition is: 
sulphate of alumina 36.85, sulphate of potash 18.15, water 
45.00. 

Aliiiiiiiiuin. — A bluish-white metal of remarkable 
brightness, its specific gravity being only a quarter that of 
silver (2.56), or about the same as porcelain. Next to oxy- 
gen and silicon, it is perhaps the most abundant element 
upon the earth^s surface, and is more abundant than any 
other metal, as it is supposed to constitute one twelfth of 
the solid crust of the earth. Most rocks and soils hold enor- 
mous quantities of this metal in combination with oxygen 
and silicon, and slate, marl, feldspar, clay, and many 
other common minerals contain it in large proportions. 

Notwithstanding its abundance, it cannot be applied to 
the many uses for which it is so well suited, because as yet 
the methods for obtaining it are very costly, although 
considerable progress has been made of late in devising 
cheaper means to this end. The metal is malleable, duc- 
tile, and tenacious, and may be beaten into thin sheets, and 
drawn into fine wire, after the manner of silver. Ham- 
mering in the cold makes it hard, like soft iron; fusing 
softens it again. Hammering increases its specific gravity 
from 2.56 to 2.67. It melts at red heat, but does not 
oxidize at high temperatures; it is not acted upon by 
chemicals that would blacken silver, and because of this 
quality it preserves its lustre better than the latter metal, 
which is usually attacked by the sulphur contained in 
some foods, forming with the silver a dark composition. 
Nitric acid, even when concentrated, fails to touch it, and 
it is not soluble in dilute sulphuric acid. Concentrated 



Aluminum. 8 Aluminum. 

hydrochloric acid dissolves it with evolution of hydrogen. 
The metal is iilso dissolved with solutions of caustic potash 
or soda, which forms aluminate of potash or soda, giving 
off hydrogen. 

Aluminum is employed extensively in the manufacture 
of delicate apparatus, ornamental articles, etc., but it is as 
yet only valuable as an alloy with other metals, such as 
steel, cast-iron, copper, nickel, and some others, the quality 
of which is very perceptibly improved by certain additions 
of aluminum. The property of this metal, when combined 
with steel, iron, and copper, is to increase their tensile 
strength and resistance to oxidation. 

The fluidity of cast-iron is much improved by this metal, 
and it is claimed that the castings are much more sound 
and cleaner when alloyed with a surprisingly small amount 
of aluminum. 

Alloyed with brass or copper, it improves equally tensile 
strength, color, and durability, and gives a dense solid 
casting free from porosity. To effect the above result it is 
only necessary to flux with from -| to 1 per cent of alu- 
minum. 

The true bronze — aluminum 10, copper 90 — is a some- 
what brittle, gold-colored alloy at the first melting, but it 
increases in tenacity and strength with successive meltings, 
until at a dull red heat it may be forged and hammered 
until it has become cold, without presenting any cracks at 
the edges. 

One of the qualities possessed by aluminum bronze is 
that it may be made softer and more ductile by plunging 
into cold water while hot. The tensile strength of good 
bronze is about 90,000 pounds per square inch. 

In making this bronze in crucibles, use a layer of char- 
coal over the copper, but no flux. When the copper has 
melted, push the aluminum down into the molten copper 
before lifting out the crucible, after which it may be 



Aluminum. 9 Aluminum. 

skimmed clean and poured. No time should be lost in 
handling this alloy after it has been well stirred and freed 
from slag. 

Small proportions of gold;, silver, tin, or zinc increases 
tlie hardness, but does not materially affect the ductility of 
aluminum. Three per cent of zinc improves it; 7 per 
cent of tin impairs its lustre, and with lead, mercury, and 
antimony it will not combine. Articles made in this metal 
may be freed from the bluish tint, and made to appear 
like frosted silver by immersing in a hot solution of pot- 
ash. Soldering aluminum lias so far proven a difficult 
task; most solders will not stick to the surface of alu- 
minum and owing to its high heat conductivity, the heat is 
very rapidly drawn away from any of the molten solders, 
causing them to freeze before flowing sufficiently. These 
difficulties have been largely overcome by having the 
aluminum to be soldered hot, the surfaces especially 
cleaned, and with very hot soldering bits or careful work 
with the blow pipe, and with special alloys for solders and 
special fluxes. Several such methods are successfully used. 
Soldering bits of nickel are better than copper ones, and 
especially good work has been done with those kept hot 
by a gasolene torch or electric appliance. 

Due to the peculiar nature of aluminum and its com- 
mercial impurities, ordinary hard solder (composed of 
silver and tin), soft solder (composed of lead and zinc), 
or any of the ordinary forms of solder, do not *^ stick ^^ to 
the metal. 

The Pittsburgh Reduction Company have a process pro- 
tected by letters-patent for treating aluminum so that 
certain forms of solder will work satisfactorily with it. 

Due to the high heat conductivity of aluminum, the 
heat from the molten solder is conducted away from it so 
rapidly that it will not ^^flow under "as satisfactorily as 
could be desired. The above-mentioned company have 



Aluminum. 10 Aluminum. 

arrangements for overcoming this difficulty and soldering 
satisfactorily. 

Tlie quality of ordinary bronze, or gun-metal (copper 
90, tin 10), is much improved by an addition of about 2 
per cent aluminum. 

All anti-friction metals, especially babbitt-metal, are im- 
proved by the addition of from ^ to J of 1 j^er cent 
aluminum. 

Steel is rendered more fluid for casting with by a small 
percentage of aluminum added to each ladleful of metal 
before pouring. From f to 1 pound to a ton of steel is 
usually sufficient for this purpose; it diffuses through the 
mass without stirring, makes sounder castings and freer 
from honeycomb. 

Its effect upon gray cast iron is not very pronounced, 
but white iron containing combined carbon 4.80, and no 
graphite, is changed to a gray iron containing graphitic 
carbon 3.45, combined carbon 0.93, by the addition of 
about 3.20 per cent of aluminum, thus causing an entire 
change from white iron to gray. 

Most type-metal mixtures are appreciably improved by 
a further alloy of from 5 to 10 per cent aluminum, the 
edges of the type being made harder and metal more dur- 
able. 

With nearly all brass mixtures it imparts a higher de- 
gree of homogeneity, and lessens the tendency to corro- 
sion. 

Zinc galvanizing is made more easy of accomplishment, 
and with improved results, by adding a slight proportion 
of aluminum to the zinc, a thinner and more tenacious 
coating being made possible by this means. 

Besides the numerous aluminum alloys given elsewhere, 
there are many new compositions which are claiming con- 
siderable attention, in which aluminum enters as a princi- 
pal ingredient, some of which are as follows : 



Aluminum. 



11 Aluminum. 



Bonrbounz-m-etal contains aluminum 85.74, tin 12.94, 
silicon 1.32. 

Nickel-alummum contains aluminum 8, nickel 20. 

Metalline contains aluminum 25, copper 30, cobalt 35, 
iron 10. 

Rosme, for jewelry, contains aluminum 30, nickel 40, 
tin 20, silver 10. 

Cobalt-bronze contains aluminum 10, copper 40, cobalt 
50. See Aluminum Alloys; Aluminum-bronze Alloys. 

The impurities most commonly found in aluminum are 
silicon and iron, and it may be said of the metal made by 
the Pittsburgh Reduction Company that these two impuri- 
ties are tlie only ones found. Silicon in aluminum exists ' 
in two forms, one seemingly combined with aluminum as 
combined carbon exists in pig-iron, and the other as an 
allotropic graphitoidal modification. 

For many purposes the pure aluminum cannot be so ad- 
vantageously used as that containing 3^ or 4^ of impuri- 
ties, as the pure aluminum is soft and not so strong as the 
less pure. It is only where extreme malleability, ductility, 
sonorousness, and non-corrodibility are required, that the 
purest metal should be used. 

The purity of commercial aluminum varies from 94^ to 
99.75^. The Pittsburg Reduction Company sells its com- 
mercial aluminum in three grades. 

The No. 1 grade of aluminum has an analysis approxi- 
mately as follows : 

Silicon 0.50^. 

Iron 0.25^. 

Aluminum 99.25^. 

They always have, however, in stock metal still purer 
than this; some running as high as 99.90^ pure, which is 
sold at an added price for special uses. 



Aluminum. 



1^ Alumluunl. 



The No. 2 grade ordinarily runs quite uniform in com- 
position, and has an analysis approximately as follows : 

Silicon H- 

Iron ¥• 

Aluminum 96^. 

This metal, however, is not guaranteed to be over 94^ 
pure. 

Sound ingots of the No. 1 grade metal, suitable for roll- 
ing, are kept in stock of the following sizes : 

12 inches x 18 inches x If inch. 
12 '' X 18i '' X 1| " 
llj " X 16J " X 1 « 
12^ '' X 6 '' X I " 
5J " X 2 '' X 4 " 

Aluminum for remelting is kept in stock of the various 
grades of metal, in what are called ^* waffle" ingots. They 
are square placques, three inches on a side and of about J 
inch thickness, and weigh about one half pound each. 
They are connected together with thin webs. 

A sheet of aluminum twelve inches square and one inch 
thick weighs 14.12 pounds; a bar of aluminum one inch 
square and 12 inches long weighs 1.176 pounds; a bar of 
aluminum one inch in diameter and 12 inches long weighs 
0.918 pounds. 

Weight. — The weight per cubic inch of cast aluminum 
is .092 lb.; of rolled aluminum, .098 lb. 

The weight per cu. ft. of cast aluminum is .158.989 lbs. 
The weight per cu. ft. of rolled aluminum is. 169.510 lbs. 
The weight per cu. ft. of wrought iron is. . .480.000 lbs. 

The weight per cubic foot of soft steel is 490.450 lbs. 

The weight per cubic foot of brass is 524.160 lbs. 

The weight per cubic foot of copper is 558.125 lbs. 



Aluminum. 13 Aluminum. 

Tlie weight of a given bulk of cast aluminum being 1, 
soft steel or iron is 3.0 times as lieavy; copper is 3.6 times 
as heavy; nickel, 3.5 times as heavy; silver, 4 times as 
heavy; lead, 4.8 times as heavy ; gold, 7.7 times as heavy, 
and platinum 8.6 times as heavy. 

Sfrongth. — The tensile, crashing and transverse tests of 
aluminum vary very considerably with different conditions 
of hardness, due to cold working ; also by the amount of 
work that has been put upon the metal, the character of 
the section, etc. Cast aluminum has about an equal 
strength to cast iron in tension, but under compression is 
comparatively weak. The following is a table giving the 
average results of many tests of aluminum of 98.5 fo 
purity : 



Elastic limit per sq. in. in tension (castings) 8,500 

(sheet) 12,500 to 25,00;) 
" " " " (wire) 16,000 to 30,000 

" '' " " (bars) 14,000 to 25,000 

Ultimate strength per sq. in. " (castings) 18,000 

" " " (sheet) 24,000 to 50,000 

" " " " (wire) 30,000 to 65,000 

" '' " " (bars) 28,000 to 45,000 

Per cent of reduction of area in tension (castings) 15 

" " (sheet).. 20 to 30 

" " " " (wire) . . 40 to 60 

" " « " (bars)... 30 to 40 

Elastic limit per square inch under compression in 
cylinders, with length twice the diameter 3,500 

Ultimate strength per square inch under compres- 
sion in cylinders, with length twice the diameter. 12,000 

The modulus of elasticity of cast aluminum is about 
11,000,000. 



Aluminum. 



14 



Aluminum. 



Alumiiiuni in castings cun readily be strained to the 
unit stress of 1500 lbs. per sq. inch in compression, and 
to 5000 lbs. per sq. inch in tension. It is rather an open 
metal in its texture; and for cyliuders, to stand pressure, 
an increase in thickness over the ordinary formulae should 
be given to allow for its porosity. 

Under transverse tests, pure aluminum is not very rigid, 
although the metal will bend nearly double before brcak- 
insf, while cast iron will crack before the deflection has be- 
come at all large. 

The texture and strength of aluminum are greatly 
improved by subjecting the ingots to forging or pressing 
at a temperature of about 600° Fahrenheit. 

Taking the tensile strength of aluminum in relation to 
its weight, it is as strong as steel of 80,000 pounds per 
square inch. Comparative results in this way are tabulated 
below as taken from Richards' work on ^^ aluminum." 





Weight of 1 

Cubic Foot in 

Pounds. 


Tensile 
Strength per 
Square Inch. 


Length of a 
Bar able to 
Support its 
own Weight 
in Feet. 




444 
525 
480 
490 
168 


16,500 
36,000 
50,000 
78.000 
26,800 


5,351 


Ordiniirv bronze 


9,893 


AVr()U""ht iron 


15,000 


Hard structural steel 


23,040 


Aluminum 


23,040 



Rolled Copper has a specific gravity of 8.93. One 
cubic foot weighs 5bS^-f^j^ lbs. One square foot of one 



inch thick weighs 40^io lbs. 



Rolled Aluminum has a specific gravity of 2.72. 
One cubic foot weighs 169yy/o- lbs. One square foot oi' 
one inch thick weighs 14iV% lbs. Rolled copper is 3.283 
times heavier than similar sections of rolled aluminum. 



Aluminum. 



15 



Aluminum. 



COMPARATIVE WEIGHT OF METALS. 



Metals. 



Iron, 

Steel. 

Aluiniii 

Brass, 

Copper, 

Gold. 

Lead, 

Nickel, 

Silver, 

Tin, 

Ziuc, 



rolled, 
uiu. 



Weights per 


Square l<\jot 


1 Inch Tliick. 


40.000 


40.883 


14 126 


43 68 


46 51 


100.8 


59 80 


43.2 


54.75 


38. 


37.6 



Approximate Percentage. 



Heavier than 
Iron. 



2 per ct. 

7 per ct. 

13 

150 

50 

7 

361 



Ligliter than 
Iron. 



62.91 per ct. 



5 per ct. 

6 " 



TENSILE STRENGTH OF SOME ALUMINUM BRASS 
ALLOYS. 









Tensile Strength 


Aluminum. 


Copper. 


Zinc. 


per Square Inch. 
Lbs. 


1.00 


57.00 


42.00 


68,600 


1.15 


55.80 


43.00 


70,200 


1.25 


70.00 


28.00 


36,900 


1.50 


78.00 


27.50 


42,300 


1.50 


77.50 


21.00 


33,417 


2.00 


70.00 


28.00 


52,800 


2.00 


70.00 


28.00 


52,000 


2.50 


68.00 


30.00 


65 400 


3.00 


67.00 


30.00 


68,600 


3.30 


63 00 


33.30 


86.700 


3.:50 


63.30 


33.30 


77,400 


3.30 


63.30 


33.30 


92,500 


3.30 


63.30 


33.30 


90,000 


5.80 


67.40 


26.80 


96,900 



Aluminum. 



16 



Aluminum Alloys 



TABLE SHOWING WEIGHT IN POUNDS OF SHEET 
AND BAR ALUMINUM AND BRASS. 

Rolled brass is 3.0:21 times heavier than rolled aluminum. 
Rolled steel is 2.890 times heavier than rolled aluminum. 





Sheets 


Square Bai 


s 


Rou 


id Bar 


s 


Thickness 
or Diam- 


per 
Square Foot. 


One Foot 
Long. 




One Foot 
Long. 




eter in 


















Inches. 






















Alum'um, 


Brass. 


Steel. 


Alum'um. 


Brass. 


Steel. 


Alum'um. 


Brass. 


steel. 


1-16 


.884 


2.7 


2.556 


.004.50 


.015 


.013 


.00346 


.011 


.010 


1-8 


1.769 


5.41 


5 112 


.01834 


.055 


.053 


.014.^3 


.045 


.042 


3-16 


2.647 


8.12 


7.65 


.04118 


.125 


.119 


.03253 


.1 


.094 


1^ 


3.530 


10.76 


10.20 


.073364 


.2.55 


.212 


.05780 


.175 


.167 


5-16 


4.412 


13.48 


12.75 


.1152 


.3.50 


.333 


.09032 


.275 


.261 


3-8 


5.294 


16.25 


15.30 


.1654 


.51 


.478 


.12970 


.395 


.375 


7-16 


6.177 


19. 


17.85 


.2253 


.69 


.651 


.1768 


.54 


.511 


1-3 


7.060 


21.65 


20.40 


.2941 


.905 


.850 


.2308 


.71 


.667 


9-16 


7.942 


24.3 


22.95 


.3723 


1.15 


1.076 


.2924 


.9 


.845 


5-8 


8.824 


27.12 


25.50 


.4595 


1.4 


1.328 


.3609 


1.1 


1 043 


11-16 


9.706 


29.77 


28.05 


.5564 


1.72 


1.608 


.4367 


1.35 


1.262 


3-4 


10.590 


32.46 


30.60 


.6620 


2.05 


1.913 


.5198 


1.55 


1.502 


13-16 


11.470 


35.18 


8::i.l5 


.7768 


2.4 


2.245 


.6104 


1.85 


1 763 


7-8 


12.35 


37.85 


35 70 


.9008 


2.75 


2.603 


.7074 


2.15 


2.044 


■ 15-16 


13 23 


40.55 


38.25 


1.034 


3.15 


2.989 


.8122 


2.48 


2.347 


1 


14.12 


43.29 


40.80 


1.176 


3.65 


3.400 


.924 


2.85 


2.670 


1.1-16 


15.00 


45.95 


43.35 


1.328 


4.08 


3.8.38 


1.043 


3.20 


3 014 


1.1-8 


15.88 


48.69 


45.90 


1.488 


4.55 


4.303 


1.169 


3.57 


3.379 


1.3-16 


16.76 


51.4 


48.45 


1.6.59 


5.08 


4.795 


1.303 


3.97 


3.706 


1.1-4 


17 64 


54.18 


51.00 


1.838 


5.65 


5.312 


1.444 


4.41 


4 173 


1.5-16 


18.52 


56.85 


53.55 


2.027 


6.22 


7 857 


1.592 


4.86 


4.(100 


1.3-8 


19.41 


59.55 


56.10 


2.224 


6.81 


6.428 


1.747 


5.35 


5.0.9 


1.7-16 


20.30 


62.25 


58.65 


2 431 


7.45 


7.026 


1.909 


5,85 


5 51S 


1.1-2 


21.18 


65. 


61.20 


2.647 


8.13 


7.6.50 


2.079 


6.37 


6.00S 


1.9-16 


22.06 


67.75 


63.75 


2.872 


8.83 


8.301 


2.2.56 


6.92 


6..5i>0 


1.5-8 


22 94 


70.35 


66.30 


3.107 


9.. 55 


8.97S 


2.440 


7.48 


7.051 


1.11-16 


23.82 


73. 


68.85 


3.350 


10.27 


9.682 


2.6:^1 


8.05 


7.604 


1.3-1 


24.70 


75.86 


71.40 


3.602 


11. 


10.41 


2.830 


8.65 


8.178 


1 13-16 


25.58 


78.55 


73 95 


3.865 


11 82 


11.17 


3.036 


9.29 


8 773 


1.7-8 


26.46 


81.25 


76.50 


4.135 


12.68 


11.95 


3.249 


9.95 


9.388 


1.15-16 


27.43 


84. 


79.05 


4.415 


13.5 


12. 7G 


3.467 


10.. 58 


10.02 


2 


28.22 


86.76 


81.60 


4.706 


14.35 


13.60 


3.696 


11.25 


10.68 



Aliiiiiiiiuin Alloys.— The following alloys comprise 
most of those which are in common use. Such alloys as 
have been made with other metuls have not as yet been 
recognized as having any practical value in arts or manu- 
factures. 



Aluminum Bronze. 



Aluminum Bronzo. 



Aluminum silver, for liue iustrumeuts 

Alloy, for watcli-springs, etc 

Aluminum bronze, burd mulleiible gold color 

soft 
" " medium ** greenish gold, 

Solid copper castings 

Aluminum copper, for engraving 

Allo3^ bard as coin-silver 

Alloy, extremely bard , 

Alloy, ductile, bard, greenish. . . . , , 

Alloy, brittle, crystalline 

Alloy, harder tban aluminum and polishes well. , 

Allo3% similar to 14-carut gold , 

Gun-metal, with aluminum alloy, equal to cast 
steel in strengtb ; good for bells, etc 



B 








3 








C 




u 




a 


0) 


t 


"d 


















< 


03 


Q 


O 


96 


4 






5 




90 




10 




90 




5 




95 




71 




92,^ 




1 




99 




2 




98 




5 


95 






50 


50 






99 






1 


90 






10 


95 


5 






10 




85 


5 


2 




90 





10 



Alumiiium Bronze. — The best quality of aluminum 
bronze is made by alloying copper with from five to ten per 
cent of aluminum. 

The alloy is far superior to any of the common bronzes, 
being far more rigid— chips, files, and machines better; the 
turnings not being short and chippy, like brass or cast-iron, 
but long and connected after the manner of the best 
mild steel. It has a beautiful gold color, takes a splen- 
did polish, does not easily ttirnish, works well under the 
artist's tools; and, while it makes an excellent imitation 
gold, and as such is used extensively for a great variety 
of objects, useful and ornamental, yet it is unquestionably 
the king of alloys for guns, journal-bearings, bells, and 
many other purposes too numerous to enumerate here, 
owing to its great tenacity, malleability, and good wearing 
qualities, the fineness of its grain making it a highly 
desirable alloy for all parts of machinery that are subjected 
to friction. 



Amalgam. 1^^ Amalgamation. 

Like C()p[)er, its qualities of softness and ductility are 
improved by sudden cooling, and, strange to say, like iron, 
it may be forged and welded— something utterly impossi- 
ble with other alloys. But to obtain the best results it is 
absolutely necessary that the best copper and the purest 
aluminum be used for making the alloy. See Aluminum; 
Aluminum Alloys. 

iA^malgaiii means that class of alloys with which 
mercury forms one of the combining metals. With regard 
to the nature of the union that takes place in such com- 
binations it has been remarked that, on adding successive 
small quantities of silver to mercury, a variety of fluid 
amalgams are apparently produced. Really, the chief, if 
not the only, compound resulting from this operation is a 
solid amalgam, which is intimately diffused throughout 
the fluid mass. In other words, the fluidity of an amal- 
gam depends on there being an excess of mercury over and 
above the amount required to form a definite compound. 
Mercury immediately combines with silver and gold at 
common temperatures, but with iron, even when hot, it is 
not disposed to unite. See Amalgamation; Mercury. 

Anialganiatioii is the operation of mixing mercury 
with any metal to form an amalgam. This is done by 
fusing the metal first and adding the mercury to it, on 
which they at once mutually attract each other. The 
amalgam of gold with mercury is made by beating gold 
(1 drachm) into thin plates and setting them into a red-hot 
crucible; the mercury (1 ounce) is then poured in, and the 
whole well stirred with an iron rod until it begins to fume, 
when it must be poured into water to coagulate. Some 
processes of gilding and silvering are conducted by amal- 
gamation (see Mercury); but its most extensive use is in 
separating metals, silver especially, from their ores by dis- 



Amber. 19 Ammonia. 

solving the particles of metal and leaving the earthy matter. 
Substantially, the process consists of first crushing the 
quartz rock, in which the particles of gold are imbedded, 
by means of stamp-mills, and placing the dust, mixed with 
mercury, into rapidly revolving vessels. Tlie mercury, l)y 
this process, attaches to itself all the gold particles and forms 
a semi-fluid mass, which is mercury in a lialf-congealed 
state, containing all the gold. This amalgam is tbeji placed 
in a retort and heat applied; which operation separates the 
mercury by sublimation, to be again employed for further 
amalgamation, and leaves the collected gold in the body of 
the retort. See Amalgam; Sublimation^; Mercury; 
Silver; Gold. 

Amber. — One of a number of fossil substances that 
resemble the resins. It is found along the shores of the 
Baltic, and occurs in beds of lignite in many localities. 
With friction it becomes highly electric. It is a mixture 
of several resinous bodies; it also contains .succinic acid. 
Only one eighth part is, in its natural state, soluble in 
alcohol ; but it dissolves readily after it has been fused, in 
which state it is used for a varnish, etc. It is composed 
of carbon 80.5, hydrogen 7.3, oxygen 6.7, ashes (lime, 
silica, alumina) 3.27. See Resins. 

Ainericaii-Scotcli Pig-iron. — A common name 
for some brands of American pig-iron, in which the silicon 
is high, and for which reason they have gradually sup- 
planted the original Scotch irons wliich were formerly 
imported as softeners. See Scotch Irojst ; Softeners. 

Aiiiinoiiia. — A colorless irrespirable gas, of an ex- 
tremely pungent and caustic taste, lighter than air (sp. gr. 
0.59). It exists in very minute quantities in tlie atmos- 
plu>re, rain-water, fog, and dew. Ammonia is the only 



Amorphism. 20 Analysis. 

known compound of nitrogen and hydrogen; it is a con- 
stant product of the decomposition of organic substances 
which contain nitrogen. It is produced from the destruc- 
tive distillation of horns and hoofs, but the liquor of the 
gas-works furnishes the chief source of commercial am- 
monia. Being a gas it is called volatile alkali to distinguish 
it from those which are fixed, or solid. Owing to the fact 
that it was derived from the horns of harts, it is commonly 
called spirits of hartshorn. See Alkali. 

Aniorpliisiii. — This term expresses the opposite of 
the crystalline state. Diamond is crystalline carbon; char- 
coal and lamp-black are amorphous carbon. Amorphous 
bodies are without any regular form or trace of crystalline 
structure, as wrought-iron; they fracture irregularly, in 
any direction, and are generally more soluble aiid less hard 
and dense than in the crystalline form. See Orystal- 

LIZATIOH. 

Anchor.— -A name frequently given to studs and chap- 
lets generally, but more correctly applied to any special 
contrivance for maintaining isolated portions of a mould 
which, but for such means, would be forced out of position. 
A core is anchor ed doimi when its security depends on a 
bolt, or wire, which binds it to the mould. See Chaplet. 

Analysis. — The subject of analysis in relation to gen- 
eral foundry practice has for some time occupied the atten- 
tion of our foundry associations East and West, and called 
forth considerable comment from leading chemists and 
manufacturers all over. The writer's views upon the ques- 
tion are set forth in the following paper, composed by 
him, and read at a meeting of the Western Foundrymen's 
Association, held in Chicago, February 28, 1894: 

An article of mine on ^'Mixing Cast Iron," which ap- 



Analysis. 21 Analysis. 

peared ia the issues of March 24 and 31, 1892, of the 
American Machinist, and now constitutes the third chapter 
in my book, "The Iron Founder Supplement," was the 
natural outcome of experiences therein related. It was 
with some trepidation on my part that the ai-ticle was 
presented, as at that early period of my experience in 
these matters I hardly felt able to adequately exliibit a 
subject which, to me at least, appeared in the light of a 
revelation. 

The article met with a determined opposition from some 
quarters, both here and abroad ; but I shall ever esteem 
the kindly criticism of Professor Torrey, who, while ad- 
mitting that science must, for some time at least, get the 
lion's share of the benefits accruing from a system of 
chemical analysis in the foundry, thought the establish- 
ment of laboratories, and the installation of chemists in 
that department of the iron industries, would be a very 
good thing. He concludes a very instructive review of the 
subject as follows : "I have no intention of trying to in- 
struct Mr. Bolland, or any other found ryman. I have 
simply called to mind a number of facts with which they 
are, presumably, as well acquainted as I am — better, per- 
haps, with one side. The only object in so doing is to put 
the question of chemistry in the foundry in its proper light 
with relation to existing facts. Perhaps the foundry at 
large, from a business point of view, would be benefited by 
the co-operation of the chemical laboratoi-y; but I do not 
as yet believe it. . . . The foundry has not the great train 
of waste and by-products that many industries have, and 
the waste, such as it is, can be better controlled. The one 
place where it would seem that chemistry might come in 
would be in the mixing of irons, as Mr. Bolland suggests ; 
but, as previously stated, it is by no means certain that 
anything definite or satisfactory would be accomplished." 
Since then, hoAvever, a gradual change has been taking 



Analysis. ^^ Analysis. 

place, and an eminent metallurgical chemist, Mr. Clemens 
Jones, emphatically states that " the foundryman is in a 
position to say to the pig-iron maker, 'I want such a qual- 
ity of iron,' and the furnace manager is in a position to 
light liis fires and make it.'' 

With such assurance from one so conspicuously qualified 
to pronounce an opinion on these themes, may we foundry- 
men not anticipate the time when, by reason of a superior 
education, we shall be able to exactly determine our re- 
quirements, and prove beyond question the validity of such 
an assertion ? 

We who are not chemists naturally cling tenaciously to 
the only tangible support that, up to the present, has been 
vouchsafed us, viz. : the testing-machine ; and I am per- 
suaded that it will take some time to convert the large 
majority of fouiiders to a belief in this (to them) new de- 
parture. My first acquaintance with this subject dates 
from the time when I was associated with Mr. Molin, 
metallurgical chemist. New York City. At that time I 
looked upon the faculty as a decided superfluity in a foun- 
dry; but it gives me pleasure to say that, while he noticed 
my self-assurance, he consistently acted, not only the 
scholar, but the gentleman. He also unmistakably demon- 
strated his ability to accomplish, by chemical analysis, what 
had before seemed impossible of accomplishment ; and, 
while he may not have made a chemist out of such crude 
material, I am certainly a sound convert to the methods of 
which he is so able an exponent. 

A careful perusal of Mr. Keep's able papers and other 
kindred works, as well as the exhaustive productions read 
before this and the Eastern Association by our foremost 
chemists, has established my belief beyond question. Mr. 
Henderson, in his address before the Foundrymen's Asso- 
ciation, of Phihidelphia, brings this whole subject out in 
bold relief when he says : " But what of permanent avail 



Analysis. 23 Analysis. 

is accomplished by the application of physical tests to 
material the chemical composition of which is unknown ? 
The very utmost that can be hoped from such tests is to 
establish the fact that a definite lot of material is either 
good or bad." 

The above is preceded by a forcible plea for the recogni- 
tion of chemistry as a factor in foundry practice on the 
following grounds : " That, whereas it is known that 
certain impurities in material produce certain character- 
istic effects upon the physical behavior of manufacture re- 
sulting from its employment ; that certain combinations of 
impurities produce certain other effects, and that in the 
process of conversion, which is in every case a chemical 
one, these impurities may be eliminated, retained, Oi* forced 
into combination with others according to fixed laws and 
conditions to which they are subjected." But he further 
affirms that in order to secure a proper adjustment of these 
proportions, so that the resultant casting shall meet all the 
requirements in the case, ability of the highest order must 
be employed, simply because the line is not so clearly de- 
fined, on either side of which an element may not enter 
into its composition without disaster. 

The same author, comparing the value of chemical 
against physical tests, affirms that, " A fact once established 
by chemical research remains fixed for all time. When it 
is known that a certain percentage of an element in a 
material under certain conditions produces a certain physi- 
cal effect, every time these conditions are reached in' this 
material having the same percentage of the element this 
identical physical effect is obtained and no other." 

Mr. Keep claims that '^ intelligent mixing of irons can- 
not be accomplished without the aid of chemistry, and con 
elusions must be reached by the united work of chemistry 
and physical experiment." That the time is not far distant 
when the chemist will be acknowledged as the supreme 



Analysis, '^■i Analysis. 

factor in foundry economics is significantly put by the 
same author, who on this phase of the subject says : "If a 
man with a thorough chemical education would learn to 
look at general tendencies and not hold so closely to four 
figures of decimals, and accept the results of late research, 
he could adapt himself to general foundry-work and be of 
great use. He would soon leave his laboratory and become 
the practical leader, and would only go back occasionally to 
solve some problem that needs new light. We cannot have 
too much respect for chemistry. Practical research could 
do nothing without it ; but after general conclusions are 
reached, then to be of use the chemist must become the 
practical metallurgist.*^ 

On this head, Professor Torrey cogently informs us that 
"it takes the skilled metallurgical engineer to reason from 
the chemistry to the physics of iron ; and the chemist must 
be a good one if the results are to be good for anything. 

It may be readily inferred from the preceding that the 
chemist's work in the foundry must be practical in all its 
bearings, and that a mere school knowledge of the science 
would be of little service there. 

Subjects like the porosity of castings, cast-iron and steel, 
would, under the supervision of a chemist, be subjected to 
a superior system of examination : even the ordinary cruci- 
ble tests would receive his strict attention, with the positive 
assurance of their being made intelligently. Metal-mixing 
would be transferred from the ignorant mechanic, with his 
crude systems, to the more positive and scientific methods 
of chemical research — just where it should have been long 
ago. For the want of intelligent direction, the best sys- 
tems of mechanical testing have always been more or less 
defective ; and, as matters now stand, formulas of any kind 
are seldom understood and as seldom acted up to. The 
chemist would change all this with the greatest ease and 
dispatch. The business of steel-founding would have de- 



Analysis. 25 Analysis. 

veloped more rapidly if the chemist had been consulted 
with regard to the materials for forming tlie moulds as 
well as for the metal with which to fill them. Brass- 
founding is almost exclusively a branch of metallurgical 
chemistry; and it is safe to say that the few advances 
made in that art have emanated from the chemist's labora- 
tory rather than the brass-shop. 

There is nothing used in a foundry that does not re- 
quire rigid inspection when purchased, such as an able 
chemist only can give ; and it would be to the interest of 
every firm that not only the iron, but fuel, sand, fire-bricks, 
clays, and every material employed, should undergo close 
scrutiny. By this means all fraudulent impositions would 
be at once detected. Already we may observe that sands 
for foundry purposes are receiving some attention from 
the chemist. 

Analysis at once discovers just what may be used for the 
numerous classes of castings made. We may expect to be 
informed that in the great majority of cases we have been 
unnecessarily annoyed by the presence of elements unfa- 
voi-able to the production of good castings, when, perhaps, 
a more suitable material has been overlooked that might 
have been employed with impunity at a much less cost. 
The percentage of iron oxide, alumina, organic and volatile 
matters present being made known, there will be no diffi- 
culty in making such selection as will meet every require- 
ment absolutely. 

It is reasonable to presume that the advent of a chemist 
in the foundry will deter the artful agent from forcing 
material upon a firm that did not in every respect measure 
to the full what it was represented to be, and it is certain 
that the popularity of many favorite irons would go up 
with the smoke from the laboratory when a test in the 
latter sanctum had revealed its marked deficiencies. 

Fracture will no longer be relied upon, as it is now a 



Analysis. ^6 Analysis. 

well-authenticated fact that analysis Las shown that very 
many of the No. 1 irons are inferior to No. 2 of other 
brands wliich maybe purchased for less money— saving, in 
many instances, from 50 cents to '11.50 per ton. 

There can be no question as to how some of our foremost 
firms are producing castings for such low figures at this 
time. To my personal knowledge, analj^sis of the mate- 
rials employed is at the bottom of it ; for, by reason of the 
knowledge thus obtained, they have been enabled to pur- 
chase both pig-iron and scrap at ridiculously low figures, 
very much of which, under the old i-ule-of-thumb methods, 
would have been rejected as unfit for the purpose. In 
many instances this decided advantage has been further 
supplemented by the production of better castings. 

It is certain that those who buy on analysis, knowing 
what they want, monopolize every opportunity for grab- 
bing whatever offers cheap, as the chances for future dis- 
appointment are reduced to a minimum by the substitu- 
tion for the old unsafe method of one that is not ordy 
cheap, but sure. 

There is practically no difficulty in producing steel of 
any desired quality, owing to the fact that the different 
elements are now so well known and may, by chemical 
test, be regulated in such proportions as will result in the 
quality of steel required. To accomplish this without loss 
and inconvenience, all the material is tested before pur- 
chase is made, and the user knows exactly what he has 
bought, a.nd can, without fear of mistake, proceed to the 
manufacture of his product, knowing from the beginning 
what the end will be. Surely castings, pig-iron and scrap, 
can be analyzed with as great nicety so that when fault is 
found with the resultant castings, the true cause of the 
trouble may be located, the mixture changed to the requi- 
site proportions, and thus control the business as effectually 
as it is now done for steel. In framing mixtures for cast 



Analysis. 



27 Analysis. 



iroD, it must naturally occur to the least observant that if 
a certain proportion of the elements contained in the iron 
produce certain chemical effects, which, in turn, are pro- 
ductive of certain physical properties which may be altered 
according to the proportions employed, we are forced to 
the conclusion that chemical analysis will reveal whatever 
is lacking, and will also suggest a remedy. 

A defect in some pump-castings resulted in an analysis 
of the iron being made by Mr. Molin, who found that it 
was too high in graphitic and correspondingly low in com- 
bined carbon, which caused a soft, porous iron that would 
dissolve rapidly in the water from the mine. This dis- 
covery led to an immediate change in the mixture— an 
additional quantity of combined carbon effecting at once 
what under the old regime would not have been satisfac- 
torily accomplished until the offending stock had been all 
used up and a change brought about, perhaps, by a new con- 
signment. The latter alternative is, unfortunately, the only 
means of escape possible for numbers of foundries to-day 
a,lmost everywhere. Desiiing to learn more in reference to 
the above, I waited upon the superintendent of the firm, who 
informed me that an elaborate system of physical tests were 
the order of the day, and that unremitting attention was 
paid to this department; but he was now firmly persuaded 
that, unless this was accompanied by chemical analysis, 
they would always be subject to a like experience. 

Personally, I may state that since I became satisfied in 
reference to the wonderful property of silicon to change 
white and intermediate grades of iron more or less high in 
combined carbon, into graphitic iron, I have experienced no 
difficulty whatever in arranging my mixtures, simply be- 
cause a physical test informs me of its strength, and, if 
the shrinkage is found too high, it is evidence of hardness, 
which latter condition I now know may be lessened by an 



Analysis. ^8 Analysis. 

increase of silicon, the shrinkage always decreasing in pro- 
portion as the iron becomes more graphitic. 

It is not supposed that the common run of small foun 
dries will employ a chemist, but if it be found in the long 
run that the system of analysis pays, there is no question 
but that they too will contrive some means for obtaining 
these valuable aids. For instance, proprietors' sons who 
have hitherto been satisfied with the regular routine of 
office-work will now have their ordinary course of educa- 
tion supplemented by a course in metallurgical chemistry, 
and thus qualify themselves for the position of chemist as 
well as clerk. 

A chemist lately said that the reason of foundrymen 
remaining in the blindfold state in which they are is simply 
their ignorance of the fine elements which determine the 
quality of their castings ; and, furthermore, that this knowl- 
edge can be easily obtained by any intelligent clerk, who may 
then with an outfit, costing about $200, proceed to make 
tests for these elements as satisfactorily as any chemist. 

One thing, however, is certain — our young men are grad- 
ually awakening to the advantages open for students in the 
technical schools; and, as chemistry is taught at most of 
them, we may expect in the near future to see our benevo- 
lent employers rendering substantial aid to their appren- 
tices, in order that they may be qualified for the important 
duty of making an analysis. 

Why is it that our technical schools stand aloof from 
this all-important question? Is this, like everything else 
pertaining to the foundry, to be tabooed also? Have 
moulders and founders no rights that these institutions feel 
bound to respect ? Surely the day is now past when a 
found ryman is to be spurned because of the apparent 
griminess of his business. I think the advent of chem- 
istry in the foundry will mark a new era in the history of 
foundrymen. Hitherto the faculty have shunned them on 



Annealing. 39 Annealing. 

account of their surroundings, but the rays of science have 
penetrated the dark moulding-shop at last, and her votaries 
hasten to undo the errors of the past, because, discerning 
the numerous problems that remain as yet unsolved, they 
have finally cast prejudice aside, and are now walking hand 
in hand, the more practical moulder being guided by the 
scientist iu paths that harmonize with physical law. 

Your true man of science now acknowledges freely 
that the foundryman is deserving of more than ordinary 
credit in that so much has hitherto been accomplished 
by men who were shrouded in such a dark panoply of 
ignorance. 

It is to the truly great among these men of science 
that the future founder must look for enfranchisement. 
Let furnaces and the necessary equipment for the smelting 
of ores, metals, alloys, etc., be at once erected in our tech- 
nical schools, where our aspiring youth may be taught ex- 
perimentally how to eliminate the objectionable elements 
from metals; also to determine by analysis of materials, 
including fuel, slags, ores, fluxes, etc., what their natures 
consist of, and thus qualify themselves for the very excel- 
lent change in their position, which to me seems inevitable 
in the near future. 

Annealing. — The process of removing brittleness 
from castings, glass, and other substances by heating them 
to a specified temperature in suitable ovens or furnaces for 
a certain period, and then allowing them to slowly become 
cool again, prolonging the time in accordance with the 
nature of the article under treatment. Glass is heated to 
almost smelting heat to admit of a uniform arrangement 
of its molecules before it is in a suitable condition for 
grinding and polishing — from six hours to two weeks being 
required for this complete operation, according to thick- 
ness ; heavy plate requires the longest time. The brittl^^ 



Animal Casts in Metal. 30 Antifriction Metals. 

ness to which heavy steel-dies are subject is removed 
by placing them in water, heating to boiling, and then 
gradually cooled. Lead, tin, and zinc are annealed in 
the same manner. Heavy castings in bronze or cast 
iron may be partially annealed by slow cooling in hot 
cinders. 

Annealing is evidently the inverse process of temper- 
ing, the latter operation acting to fix the molecular 
condition of steel by a rapid {not a sloiu) change of 
temperature. See Tempering; Malleable Cast-iron ; 
Car-wheel. 

Animal Casts in Metal.— See Ii^tsect Casts ii^ 
Metal. 

Antliracite. — A kind of coal which is known by 
many names, as stone, blind, glance, and Kilkenny 
coal. There are several varieties and nearly all possess 
the property of burning without smoke or flame. See 
Coal. 

Anthracite Facing. — Finely ground Lehigh coal, 
which has been carefully selected for its freedom from im- 
purities. It is one of the cheapest blacking-facings, and 
answers just as well as the dearer brands for rough work 
and cores when mixed with a small proportion of charcoal- 
facing — especially as a wet blacking. See Facing ; Black- 
wash. 

Antifriction Metals are alloys compounded with 
the view of lessening friction in the bearings and 
journal-boxes of machinery. Some of the compositions 
given in the following table are for linings only, while 
others are for the bearings or steps, which require no 
lining. 



Antimony. 



31 



Antimony. 



ANTIFRICTION ALLOYS. 





6 




1 II 
< 


d 

a 


1 

C5 


a 
2 


Good Liniug for general use 








1 


17 
85 


7i 




Good Bearing (not a lining) 

( " " " ) 


1 


10 ' ' 
8 
10 

24 

0.5 

1 

13.97 
10 

9.49 

2.44 

8 

25 

9 

h 

24 

72 




... 


Liniug (soften with lead if too hard) 


1 
1 

24 

17 

20 

86.03 

82 

73.96 

89.02 

79 

1* 

16 
16 

4 


....2 
....1 

8 






Lining 

Journal-box Lining, to be melted 
and run inio ingots first 









Lining subject to heat 

Lining subiect to shock 




" 


1 
6 




.... 


Lining for Loco. Axle-tree 








. . . . 


" " " " French.. 






8 

9.03 
7.76 
5 




. . . . 


" " " " English.. 
" " " " Belgian.. 
" " " " Stephenson 








0.43 
0.78 


Extra Lining (melt tin and antimony 
and pour to the melted copper). . . 




3 




Lininu:, for a heavy weight 


i 






Hard Bearin g 










Very Hard Bearing 






. . . . 




. . . • 


( mix for hard- 
Lining for Car-axles -j ening 




8 








(then add 








Lining, very cheap 


100 


15 

8 








Hardening for Babbitt's Metal 


4 


24 








(For linings use 1 pound of hard- 
ening to 2 pounds of tin.) 









See Babbitt's Metal ; Fenton's Antifriction Metal. 



Aiitiiiioiiy. — This is a brilliant white metal of a crys- 
talline texture and bluish white color, and so brittle that 
it cannot be rolled into sheets nor drawn into wire. Its 
specific gravity is 6.71; melts at 810°, crystallizes in 
pyramids, and volatilizes at an intense heat. There are 
several varieties of the ore, but the sulphuric, or gray 
antimony, is the most abundant, and yields the metal of 
commerce. To reduce the ore it is first made into a 
powder, after which it is heatetl in a revevberatory furnace; 



Antimony. 32 Antimony. 

the melted sulpliuret then flows from the infusible earthy 
matter, and is subsequently smelted and purified. Ex- 
posed to the air at ordinary temperatures antimony does 
not rnst; this property, combined with its hardening in- 
fluence on other metals, renders it eminently useful iu the 
composition of many useful alloys to make them harder 
and whiter. 

It is usually found associated with other metals, but 
always contains more or less iron. The crude metal, or 
sulphuret, is employed for purifying gold, the sulphur 
from which being readily absorbed by the inferior metals, 
while the antimony unites with the gold. Antimony has 
generally been distinguished as Regulus, or petty king, 
because of the hardening influence previously mentioned ; 
alloyed with an equal quantity of tin we have a brilliant 
white and somewhat hard alloy suitable for some descrip- 
tions of specula. Sodium and potassium are the metals 
with which antimony unites the most readily, as, even 
when the former are alloyed with other metals, the associa- 
tion is found to be of an intimate character. Antimony 
readily combines with gold, but destroys the ductility of 
the latter, producing a granular alloy of a golden tint, 
the depth of which is proportionate to the amount of gold 
present. 

Antimony contracts little or none in cooling. For this 
reason it is doubly valuable in the production of types, 
music and other plates, etc., as, besides giving the re- 
quisite degree of hardness to such alloys, it enables the 
founder to obtain a true copy of the matrix — something 
almost impossible in most of the other metals employed 
for this purpose, owing to their high shrinking qualities. 

For a large variety of alloys in which antimony enters 
as an ingredient, see White Alloys; Type-metal; Anti- 
friction^ Alloys; Pewter; Britannia Metal; Queen's 
Metal; Music Metal; Speculum Metal; Solders. 



Apothecaries' Weight. 33 Arsenic. 

Apothecaries' Weight. — In this arraugement the 
pound contains 13 ounces; each ounce 8 drachms; each 
drachm 3 scruples, and each scruple 20 grains. 

Appreiiticesliip.— See Technical Educatioit for 

THE Moulder. 

Aqua-regia, — Koyal-water, so called from its power 
to dissolve gold, the king of metals. Its scientific name is 
nitro-mtcriatic acid. See Gold. 

Arabic Gum. — Gum-arabic is a gum which flows from 
the acacia tree on the banks of the Nile, Arabia, and in 
some other parts. It forms a clear, transparent mucilage 
with water, and is insoluble in alcohol or ether. 

Arbor.— See Core-arbor. 

Argent an .—Imitation silver. See White Argek- 

TAN. 

Argol-flux. — A flux made from impure cream of 
tartar or acid tartrate of potash, which constitutes the in- 
crustation on the insides of wine casks. See Flux. 

Arm. — A spindle attachment for carrying the sweep- 
board which forms a mould. See Spikdle. 

Arsenic. — Arsenic is sometimes found pure, but more 
generally combined with nickel, cobalt, sulphur, and iron. 
To separate arsenic from the ores, they are first crushed 
and the arsenic dissipated in a reverberatory furnace by 
roasting, when the arsenious acid is condensed into tvhite 
arsenic. The metal is obtained from white arsenic by in- 
corporating it with carbonaceous matter and heating in 



Arsenious Acid. 34 Arsenious Acid. 

a closed crucible provided with a receiver, in which the 
arsenic is condensed as a brittle white metal with a slight 
degree of lustre ; the specific gravity of which is 5.7, its 
melting-point being 400°. At 500° it volatilizes without 
fusing, the vapor having a strong tincture of garlic. The 
metal may be powdered in a mortar. 

The chief property of arsenic is to promote the union of 
metals that would be otherwise difficult to mix — aluminum 
with iron ; lead with zinc ; lead with iron, etc. It pro- 
motes the fusion of many metals, and occasions some re- 
fractory ones to melt at a low temperature. Being a union 
rather than a true alloy, it is customary to call all alloys of 
arsenic by the name of arsenides. 

While arsenic, like antimony, tends to crystallize other 
metals, they are not rendered as brittle as the latter metal 
makes them. Nearly all metals combine with arsenic ; 
but, except in the case of silver and gold, such alloys may 
be decomposed by lengthened fusion. White tombac is 
copper alloyed with arsenic. The metal for lead-shot is 
rendered more fusible and solid by a slight proportion of 
this metal, and gold maybe permanently alloyed to form a 
brittle arseniui^et of gold by exposing the heated metal to 
its vapors. 

From i to I of an ounce to the pound of any alloy will 
materially assist in preventing a tendency to porosity, but 
will result in a harder casting, somewhat lighter in color. 
Speculums and all similar objects are, by means of this 
metal, made hard, white, and lustrous. 

For the manner of fluxing alloys of arsenic, also the 
methods employed for introducing this metal into the 
crucible, and alloys containing arsenic, see Speculums; 
Tombac; Lead-shot; Cobalt. 

Arsenious Acid. — White arsenic. See Arsenic; 
White Arsenic. 



Artificial Diamond. 35 Asbestos. 

Artificial Diamond.— See Diamon^d. 

Artificial Gold. — A French substitute for gold is 
made as follows : Melt copper, 100 ; then add sepanitely 
and by degrees, in powder, magnesia 6 ; sal-ammoniac 4^ ; 
qnick-lime ^; tartar 9; and stir half an hour — after which 
add zinc, or, preferably, tin 17. Mix well, and continue the 
fusing for 35 minutes, with the crucible well covered before 
casting. This alloy does not corrode easily ; when it does 
tarnish its former brilliancy can be restored by dipping in 
acid solution. See Gold Alloys. 

Artificial Stone.— See Stone. 

Art-work. — This term is usually employed to mould- 
ing fine-art work, and comprises all castings moulded from 
models prepared by the sculptor or modeller. Such cast- 
ings in the past have invariably been cast in bronze and 
kindred alloys, but very much of that which enters into 
both interior and exterior decoration is now produced in 
cast iron. The latter class of castings would prevail more 
extensively, if the moulders with skill sufficient to produce 
it were more numerous. The great dearth of such artists 
can only be relieved by improving the education of our 
youth, who by all means should be encouraged to cultivate 
a taste for the fine arts, as well as qualify themselves 
for its manipulation in the foundry, in institutes conducted 
for the special benefit of apprentices in all branches of the 
metal industries. See Technical Education for the 
Moulder ; Modelling ; Statue-founding. 

Asbestos. — A mineral of white or gray color, appear- 
ing almost like a vegetable substance, because of its fibrous, 
flexible, and delicate texture. It is incombustible, and the 
ancients wove it into cloth in which to preserve the ashes 



Ashes. 36 Assay. 

of bodies burned on the funeral pyre. There are other 
varieties of tliis mineral, all of which pertain to the different 
species of hornblende, and consist chiefly of silica, magnesia, 
lime, and oxide of iron. Its uses for manufacture into in- 
combustible material have now become too numerous for 
mention here. See Kefractory Materials. 

Ashes is what remains of animal or vegetable sub- 
stance after burning with free access of air. The ashes of 
organic substances consist of the fixed salts contained in 
them — land-plants yielding salts of potash, etc., and sea- 
plants soda, with some iodine. Turf contains alkalies and 
some sand ; so also does coal, with the addition of some 
iron occasionally. See Potash ; Alkalies. 

Asplialtuin. — This substance resembles pitch, but 
has a higher internal polish, and is sometimes called 
mineral- pitch, bitumen, etc.; it breaks with a polish, 
melts easily, and when pure burns and leaves no ashes. 
Anciently, it was only procurable from Lake Asphalites 
(Dead Sea), in Judea, for which reason it is sometimes 
also called Jews' pitch. It formed a building cement for 
the Babylonians, and is now much used in flooring, roofing, 
paving, etc. See Petroleum ; Bitumek. 

Assay. — The determination of the quantity of any par- 
ticular metal in an ore, alloy, or other metallic compound, 
more especially of the quantity of gold or silver in coin or 
bullion. It differs from analysis thus : The component 
parts of the mineral or alloy are, by analysis, separated, and 
an estimate made of their respective quantities ; while by 
assay, it is only the valuable metals that are sought for ; as, 
in the case of silver and gold alloys the inferior metals are 
dispersed, the quantity being determined by the loss of 
weight. A gold alloy is assayed by obtaining a certain 



Atmosphere. 37 Axis. 

number of grains, which, after being carefully weighed, are 
wrapped in sheet-lead and exposed to intense heat in a 
cupel placed under a muffle. Cupels for this purpose must 
be very porous, and are simply a small block with a cavity 
on the upper side to receive the metal. When fusion takes 
place, the lead is converted into a vitreous oxide, which, 
acting as a flux, acts powerfully to oxidize and vitrify the 
inferior metals contained in the alloy, which being changed, 
are absorbed by the porous cupel, leaving a globule of un- 
oxidable metal behind. The globule will be silver or gold, 
or a compound of both, which may be separated by the 
method shown at " Separating Metals from their Alloys." 
Another method of assaying is described at "Touch- 
needle." See Muffle. 

Atmosphere. — See Air; Thermometer. 

Avoirdupois Weight.— The system of weights and 
measures for all goods except precious metals and gems, 
the grain being the foundation of this as in the case of 
Troy weight. The weight of one cubic inch of water is 
252.458 grains, and 7000 of these grains make one pound 
avoirdupois, and 5.7G0 a pound troy. The pound is 
divided into 16 ounces, and the ounce into 16 drachms. The 
hundred-weight is, in most parts of the United States, 
simply 100 pounds avoirdupois, and the ton 20 of such 
hundredths, or 2000 pounds. 

Axis is the straight line about which a plane figure 
revolves so as to produce or generate a solid; or, it is a 
straight line drawn from the vertex of a figure to the 
middle of the base. The axis of a sphere or circle is a 
straight line passing through the centre and terminating 
at the circumference on the opposite sides. 

In founding, the spindle is an axis around or upon 



Babbitt Metal. 38 Backing. 

which a sweep-board revolves to produce a solid, as a core 
by using the sweep's inner edge. When the outer edge of 
the sweep is used it forms an inclosing surface, or cope. 
See Spindle. 



B. 

Babbitt Metal. — To make this composition, melt 
copper 4; then add gradually tin 12, antimony 8, and a 
further addition of tin 12. When about 4 or 5 pounds 
of the final addition of tin has been added the heat may 
be reduced to a dull red, and the remainder added. Or, 
the copper, tin, and antimony may be melted first in sepa- 
rate crucibles; then poured together into one vessel and the 
final addition of tin introduced. 

The above is a hardening. For lining take 1 pound 
of hardening and melt it along with 2 pounds of tin, 
which produces the lining metal for use. It will be seen 
that the resultant mixture contains: copper 4, tin 96, anti- 
mony 8. Banca-tin and the best quality of copper and 
antimony is to be employed when it is desired to make 
good antifriction metal. See Antifriction Metals; Alu- 
minum. 

Back. — An abbreviation for " Draw-back." See Draw- 
back. 

Backing" out is the method of producing a pat- 
tern or casting, equal in thickness all over, from a carved 
wooden block or a rough plaster -cast. The backing out of 
such blocks by the moulder saves much carving, and will 
ordinarily produce a more regular thickness throughout. 
The method is as follows : two copes are pinned to fit one 
nowel, the block is set face up in one of them, and an extra 
hard impression obtained in the nowel. This impression 



Bag. 39 Bail. 

is theu transferred to the same cope; also rammed extra 
hard, and when lifted laid face up on the floor — after which 
the block is drawn from the nowal and thicknessed with 
a suitably prepared layer of clay. The parting is then pre- 
pared and the impression taken in the second cope in a 
proper manner for casting, as this is the mould-surface or 
back of the intended object to be cast. It only remains to 
return the block into the first cope, and, after removing 
the first hard-rammed nowel-mould, return the flask to 
receive the final impression, which in this instance must be 
rammed with the customary care, as this forms the front 
or face. Both cope and nowel are by this means obtained 
from the first cope, and must as a consequence be a perfect 
match at the parting, the space formed by the clay answer- 
ing to the design back and front. 

If it is desired to accomplish this by casting the moulds 
face up, the block is placed in the nowel face up, and a 
correct parting, made very hard, formed all round it. The 
first receives the intended mould-impression, after which 
the second cope is rammed extra hard thereon, so that a 
hard working-face may be obtained on which to lay the 
clay thickness. It is then ready for the nowel proper; 
and when the latter has been duly rammed and the whole 
reversed, the dummy cope is removed, clay lifted out, 
mould finished, and the previously rammed first cope 
placed over it. As in the former case, the partings in both 
nowel and cope are obtained from one original, and must con- 
sequently match. See TnicKKESSii^G; Kettles; Statue- 
founding. 

Bag.— See Blacking-bag. 

Bail. — The arched iron yoke, provided with journals, 
in which the ladle is suspended whilst pouring. See 
Ladle. 



Baking. 



40 



Bar. 



Baking. — A term used in some localities in relation 
to the process of drying cores or moulds in the oven. See 

OVEK. 

Balls. — The following table gives the weight of cast- 
iron, copper, brass, and lead balls from 1 to 12 inches 
diameter. To obtain the weight of balls larger in diameter 
than is given in the table, ascertain the number of cubic 
inches contained in the sphere by multiplying the cube of 
its diameter by .5236; then multiply by the weight of a 
cubic inch of the metal composing the ball, as follows : 

For cast-iron and tin, multiply the total cubic inches, 
as found by the above rule, by .263, and the product will 
be the weight in pounds. 

Eor copper, multiply the total cubic inches by .317. 

For brass, multiply the total cubic inches by .282. 

For lead, multiply the total cubic inches by .410. 

TABLE SHOWING WEIGHT OF CAST IRON, COPPER, 
BRASS. AND LEAD BALLS FROM 1 TO 13 INCHES 
DIAMETER. 



Dia. 


Cast 
Iron. 


Cop- 
per. 


Brass. 


Lead. 


Dia. 


Cast 
Iron. 


Cop- 
per. 


Brass. 


Lead. 


1 


.136 


.166 


.158 


.214 


7 


46.76 


57.1 


54.5 


73.7 


H 


.46 


.562 


.537 


.727 


n 


57.52 


70.0 


67.11 


90.0 


2 


1.09 


1.3 


1.25 


1.7 


8 


69.81 


85.2 


81.4 


110.1 


2J 


2.13 


2.60 


2.. 50 


3.35 


8.} 


83.73 


102.3 


100.0 


132.3 


3 


3.68 


4.5 


4.3 


5.8 


9 


99.4 


121.3 


115.9 


156.7 


3i 


5.84 


7.14 


6 82 


9.23 


9^ 


116.9 


143.0 


136.4 


184.7 


4 


8.72 


10.7 


10.2 


13.8 


10 


136.35 


166.4 


159.0 


215.0 


4^ 


12.42 


15.25 


14.5 


19.6 


m 


157.84 


193.0 


184.0 


250.0 


5 


17.04 


20.8 


19.9 


26.9 


11 


181.48 


221.8 


211.8 


286.7 


5^ 


22.68 


27.74 


26.47 


36.0 


lU 


207.37 


253.5 


242.0 


327.7 


6 


29.45 


35.9 


34.3 


46.4 


12 


235.62 


288.1 


275.0 


372.3 


6i 


37.44 


45.76 


43.67 


59.13 













Bar. — A flask consists of sides, ends, and bars (cross- 
bars). The latter connect the sides, and form spaces in 
which rammed sand is held securely. When flasks exceed 



Bar-iron. 41 Basic Process. 

a certain size, the sand's adhesiveness is insufficient for its 
own support; it is then that bars are introduced to lessen 
the space, and thus restore their usefuhiess; in other words 
a large flask with bars is simply a numl^er of narrow flasks, 
side by side, and raised a little higher tlian the sides to 
admit of a sand junction being made underneath, and thus 
secure a continuous sand surface. See Flasks. 

Bar Iron See Malleable Iron. 

Barium. See Strontium. 

Barrel. See Tumbling-barrel; Core-barrel. 

Barrow. See Wheelbarrow. 

Basalt. — A rock of igneous origin, usually of a dark 
green or blackish color, consisting chiefly of the minerals 
augite and feldspar, with grains of magnetic or titanic iron. 
It occurs amorphous, tabular, or globular, but, as in the 
Giant's Causeway, Ireland, it is usually columnar. See 
Amorphous. 

Base-plate. See Foundation-plate. 

Basic Process. — A process of making steel by blow- 
ing the metal in converters lined with dolomite in place of 
gannister, as in the Bessmer process. Dolomite is a mag- 
nesian limestone, which, being well burned and ground, is 
mixed with tar to give it consistency. This can then be 
rammed in the converters, or pressed into bricks for lin- 
ing with. This basic lining absorbs some of the phos- 
phorous present in the iron, the rest being taken up by the 
lime, which constitutes about 15 per cent of the charge, 
and is introduced before the molten iron enters the con- 



Basin. 



42 Beach sand. 



verier. See Bessemer Steel; Converter; Gannister; 
Dolomite. 

Basin is sometimes termed a pouring -basin, or run- 
ner, and is a suitably formed reservoir constructed 
with sand within a wood or iron box-frame. Its purpose 
is to receive the metal from the pouring-ladle, and con- 
nection with the mould is made by down-runners, which 
lead from its lowest part, either to the mould direct, or to 
some system of runners which lead to it. See Down"-gate; 
Gates; Kunner; Basin^. 

Bath. See Tinnin^g; Tin-plate. 

Bath-metal. — A cheap jewelry alloy, composed of 
brass 32, zinc 9. See Tombac. 

Bavixite. — A ferric oxide, usually containing alumina 
50.4, sesquioxide of iron 26.1, water 23.5. Some samples 
have more silica and less iron. The purest is called ahi- 
7ninum ore, and is used in the manufacture of that metal. 
It is very refractory, being practically infusible, although 
containing over 20 per cent of iron oxide, while 4 or 5 per 
cent of the latter in some clays renders them easily fusible. 
Bauxite bricks are made by adding about 8 per cent of clay 
and plumbago for binding to the calcined bauxite, the re- 
sult being that as soon as intense heat is applied the 
plumbago partially reduces the iron and the brick is 
rendered practically infusible. These bricks are more 
durable than ordinary fire-bricks, will resist the most 
intense heat as well as the action of basic slags. They 
also become harder with use. See Fire-brick; Refrac- 
tory Materials. 

Beach-sand.— See White-sand. 



Bead-slickers. 43 Bed. 

Bead-slickers. — Tools maae expressly for smooth- 
ing the surface of bead-mouldings. See Slicker. 

Beam. — The foundry lifting-beam consists of a rec- 
tangular beam of wrought or cast iron, or wood, mounted 
with straps and ring to hang central in the block-hook of 
a crane. Notches sunk at equal intervals from each end 
allow of a balanced lift being taken with a pair of slings 
which fit the beam at one end and the flask-trunnions at 
the other, by which means the flask can be turned clear 
over before it is rested. By means of beam-hooks, chains 
may be hitched at any number of places along the sides. 
See Slings ; Beam-hook. 

A sound oak beam would require to measure four times 
the thickness of cast-iron to be of equal strength. 

The table at page 44 will be found of great service when 
it is desired to construct a cast-beam for the purpose as 
described above, or for any other purpose for which cast 
iron beams are applicable. 

Beam-hook. — A link-hook to slide along the beam 
to any required notch, the hook serving to suspend the 
chain for lifting with. See Beam. 

Beam-sling.— A sling with its upper end forged to 
fit the beam used, the lower end being made to two diame- 
ters; the larger one for passing over the collar of the trun- 
nion, the smaller to fit the body of the same. See Sling ; 
Beam ; Trunnion. 

Bearing.— See Core-print ; Seating. 

Bed. — A term applied to numerous things occurring in 
foundry practice. When a prepared surface is formed in 
the floor on which to lay the pattern it is usually called a 



Table. 



44 



Table. 



TABLE, 
Showing the Weight or Pressure a Beam of Cast Iron, 1 

INCH IN breadth, WILL SUSTAIN, WITHOUT DESTROYING ITS 

elastic force, when it is supported at each end and 
loaded in the middle of its length, and also the de- 
flection in the middle which that weight will produce. 
By Mr. Hodgkinson, Manchester. 



Length. 


6 feet. 


7 feet. 


8 feet. 


9 feet. 


10 feet. 


Depth 
in In. 


Weight 


Defl. 


Weight 
in Lbs. 


Defl. 


Weight 


Defl 


Weight 


Defl. 


Weight 


Defl. 


in Lbs. 


in In. 


in in 
.33 


in Lbs. 


in In. 

.426 


in Lbs. 


in In. 


in Lbs. 


iuln. 


3 


1,278 


.24 


1,089 


954 


855 


.54 


765 


.66 


3i 


1,739 


.205 


1,482 


.28 


1,298 


.365 


1,164 


.46 


1,041 


.57 


4 


2,272 


.18 


1,936 


.245 


1,700 


.32 


1,520 


.405 


1,360 


.5 


4i 


2,875 


.16 


2.450 


.217 


2,146 


.284 


1,924 


.36 


1,721 


.443 


5 


3,560 


.144 


3,050 


.196 


2,650 


.256 


2,375 


.32 


2,125 


.4 


6 


5,112 
6,958 


.12 


4.356 


.163 


3,816 


.213 


3,420 


.27 


3,060 


33 


7 


.103 


5,929 


.14 


5,194 


.183 


4,655 


.23 


4,165 


.29 


8 


9,088 


.09 


7,744 


.123 


6,784 


.16 


6,080 


.203 


5,440 


.25 


9 






9,801 


.109 


8,586 


.142 


7,695 


.18 


6,885 


.22 


10 






12,100 


.098 


10,600 


.128 


9,500 


.162 


8.500 


.2 


11 










12,826 


.117 


11,495 


.15 


10.285 


.182 


12 










15,264 


.107 


13,680 


.135 


12,240 


.17 


13 














16,100 


.125114,400 


.154 


14 














18,600 


.115 


16,700 


.143 




12 feet. 


14 feet. 


16 feet. 


18 feet. 


20 feet. 


6 


2,548 


.48 


2,184 


.65 


1,912 


.85 


1.699 


1.08 


1.530 


1.34 


7 


3.471 


.41 


2,975 


.58 


2,603 


.73 


2,314 


.93 


2,082 


1.14 


8 


4,532 


.36 


3,884 


.49 


3,396 


.64 


3,020 


.81 


2,720 


1.00 


9 


5.733 


.32 


4,914 


.44 


4.302 


.57 


3,825 


.72 


3.438 


.89 


10 


7,083 


.28 


6,071 


.39 


5,312 


.51 


4,722 


.64 


4,250 


.8 


11 


8,570 


.26 


7,346 


.36 


6,428 


.47 


5,714 


.59 


5,142 


.73 


12 


10,192 


.24 


8,736 


.33 


7.648 


.43 


6,796 


.54 


6,120 


.67 


13 


11,971 


.22 


10,260 


.31 


8,978 


.39 


7,980 


.49 


7,182 


.61 


14 


13.883 


.21 


11.900 


.28 


10,412 


36 


9,255 


.46 


8,330 


.57 


15 


15.937 


.19 


13,660 


.26 


11,952 


.34 


10,624 


.43 


9,562 


.53 


16 


18,128 


.18 


15,536 


.24 


13,584 


.32 


12,080 


.40 


10,880 


.5 


17 


20.500 


.17 


17,500 


.23 


15,353 


.30 


13,647 


.38 


12,282 


.47 


18 


22,932 


.16 


19,656 


.21 


17,208 


.28 


15,700 


.36 


13,752 


.44 



Note.— This table shows the greatest weiglit that ever ought to be laid upon 
a beam for permanent load; and if there be any liability to jerks, etc., ample 
allowance must be made; also, the weight of the beam itself must be included. 



Bed board. 45 Bedding-block. 

bottom bed. Sand that has been rammed on the bottom of 
a cupola or furnace, for the molten metal to rest upon, is 
the cupola, ox furnace-bed. Open sand-plates are cast on 
beds, constructed by means of two straight-edges, — a parallel 
straight-edge and a level, — thus : one straight-edge is 
packed until it agrees with the level ; the other is the set 
at the required distance, and, by means of the parallel 
straight-edge, each of its ends are made to agree with the 
level, the proof of which is obtained by trying the level on 
the second straight-edge, when the level will be exact if 
the operation has been correctly performed. The sand 
within the straight-edges is then brought to the requisite 
density, extending some little above, when another straight- 
edge, long enough to reach across, will serve to strike off 
the superfluous sand and leave a bed that will be level iu 
every direction. See Beddikg-ik; Sand-bed; Level; 
Stkickle. 

Bed-board. — A board on which to ram the now^al 
part when the bed is formed by the method of rolling-over 
(see Rolling-over). It may be of iron, wood, or plaster, 
with dimensions corresponding to outer edges of the 
flask nsed. Besides presenting a surface which accurately 
matches the upper side of the pattern, to prevent any 
possibility of the pattern being rammed out of shape, it 
must be made strong enough to lift the body of sand con- 
tained, when bed-board, nowal, and bottom-board aio 
secured together for rolling-over ; as any deflection will 
irretrievably destroy what would otherwise have been a 
correct impress of the pattern. See Follow-board ; 

TURNOYER-BOARD ; BOTTOM-BOARD. 

Bedding-block.— A block of hard wood, with a 
smooth under surface and rounded edges, for bedding- 
down patterns with the hammer. This block should be 



Bedding in. 



46 Beer. 



of such dimensions and shape as will be least likely to 
damage the pattern when struck with the hammer. See 
Bedding-ik. 

Bedding-ill.— One process for obtaining an impres- 
sion in the sand, of the lower or under side of the pattern. 
Simple objects may be pressed, or hammered into a suit- 
ably prepared soft bed of sand, while those of a more com- 
plex nature must have the sand tucked with the hand, or 
forced with small rammers into remote parts ; supplement- 
ing these operations by effectual ramming with the ordi- 
nary joee^i and h^itt-rammers — which operation extends to 
all parts of the liole or pit in which the mould is being 
prepared. Should this be neglected, the inside pressure, 
when the mould is cast, will press the surface back into 
the soft parts and a swelled, uneven surface will result. 

This process may, in some instances, be simplified and 
made more effective by suitably dividing the pattern and 
ramming each piece separate, from the bottom upwards. 
Again, it may be found convenient to form some portion, if 
not all of the bed, by extemporized strickles and guides 
before lowering on the pattern for a final ramming. See 
Kamming ; Venting ; Tucking ; Tramping. 

Bed-fuel is the fuel resting on the sand - bed or 
bottom of the cupola and immediately preceding the first 
charge of iron, the amount of which is regulated according 
to the diameter of the cupola and the depth of the bottom. 
If coal be the fuel used, about 15 inches above the tuyeres 
would be sufficient for bed-fuel, and about 22 inches for 
coke. See Cupola; Charging the Common Cupola. 

Beer. — Owing to the hardening influence of the gluten, 
starch, albumen, etc., contained in beer, the bottoms of 
barrels, and sometimes the beer itself, was formerly used 



Bees- wax. 47 Bell- founding. 

extensively for hardening the surface of cores and moulds, 
being sprinkled thereon before they were placed in the 
oven to dry. It has, however, been to a great extent 
superseded by molasses-water, glue-water, and the very 
numerous patented core-washes which may now be obtained 
from the foundry-supply dealers. See Core-sajstd; Core- 
wash; Molasses; Glue. 

Bees-wax. — An excellent substance for coating iron 
patterns with, to prevent the sand from adhering thereto. 
To prepare the patterns, let them be well finished, and 
sprinkled with dilute acid; after which, when rusted in 
the atmosphere, they can be cleaned, heated, and the wax 
applied while hot, spreading it evenly over the surface 
with a brush. See Wax. 

Bell-fouiitUiig. — The founding of bells is practically 
the same as for any other similar object, as pans, kettles, 
domes, etc. Large ones are usually made in loam by first 
striking a core, by means of a centre-spindle and sweep- 
board, the latter corresponding to the inner dimensions 
and form of the bell to be cast. When this has firmly set, 
another sweep-board answering to the outer contour of the 
bell is secured to the spindle, and a thickness of sand 
formed on the core; after which such ornamentation as 
may be required is secured thereon and a cope is built 
around, of such strength as the magnitude of the bell 
demands. The subsequent operations consist of lifting off 
the cope, taking away the thickness, finishing the moulds, 
drying, and closing in the pit as for any other casting. 

For the common run of bells a more ready way is pro- 
vided. These are invariably made in perforated cast-iron 
casings, which enable the founder to strike both core and 
cope separately, closing them together when dry, binding 
and casting without any subsequent labor of ramming. 



Bell-metal. 48 Bellows. 

The core-casing should be small enough to allow a wrapping 
of straw before applying the loam. The rope burns away 
and leaves ample room for contraction. See Casings; 
Kettles; Spindle. 

Bell-metal. — The alloys for large bells are now as 
various as those for small ones. It was formerly considered 
that copper 75, tin 25, was the best for all large bells, but 
it is claimed by many that copper 80, tin 20, is better. 
Many church-bells are successfully cast from either of the 
above proportions. The following proportions are about 
correct: Extra large bells: copper 16, tin 5. Church and 
large bells: copper 16, tin 4J. House-bells: copper 16, tin 
4. Gongs, cymbals, etc.: copper 16, tin 3^. Soft musical 
bells: copper 16, tin 3. 

Another composition introducing zinc and lead for 
church-bells is: copper 80, tin 10, zinc 5.6, lead 4.6. 
Clock-bells are also made from: copper 72.0, tin 26.5, iron 
1.5. It will be seen that a small proportion of iron enters 
into the latter alloy; this is common with some founders, 
and zinc and lead form no mean proportion in the cheaper 
class of small bells. 

Lafond^s mixture for small bells and piano-plates is: 
copper 77, tin 21, antimony 2. This alloy is yellowish 
white, and can be filed only with difficulty. 

A French bell-metal for hand, clock, and other similar- 
sized bells is: copper 55 to 60, tin 30 to 40, zinc 10 to 15. 
See Alloy; Brass; Japanese Bronze-wokk. 

Bellows. — These wind-machines for foundry use are 
somewhat after the pattern of those used in the home, 
except that they are usually provided with hinges and 
made strong. The common ones are used for blowing away 
superfluous parting sand off the patterns, and loose sand 
and blackening out of the moulds. Bellows for the bench 



Belt-core. 49 Bend pipe. 

are made witliout spout and somewhat shorter. Special 
bellows, for distributing blackening upward where it can- 
not be applied with the bag, are now made; as also are 
e^prinkling-bellows for saturating the mould, where neces- 
sary, with water, etc. 

Belt-core. — It is common to call almost any descrip- 
tion of jacket-core by this name. See Jacket-core. 

Belts for cores. — Leather-belting makes very reli- 
able and handy slings for lifting cores, but, owing to the 
very inferior means usually provided for binding the ends 
together when in use, very much of their reliability and 
usefulness is marred. If very thin steel ends are riveted 
on, all this annoyance is obviated. The steel, g^ inch in 
thickness, must be just as wide as the belt, and as short as 
is consistent with safety. The ends, being both turned 
with a very short " U,^^ interlock each other. 

Bencli-nioulcler. — A moulder, whose work being of 
a light description, can perform all the operations required 
for producing it in small wooden or iron flasks, standing 
up to his work at a suitably provided bench. See Si^^AP- 

MOULDER. 

Bench-ramnier. — A short wooden rammer used by 
the bench-moulder. It has just space sufficient between 
the butt and peen ends for the hand to grasp it. It is 
common for the moulder to use one in each hand. 

Bend-pipe. — A common name for all classes of 
curved pipes that are not distinctively elbows. The 
moulding of such pipes demands the attention of moulder 
and pattern-maker more than any other, simply because 
the constantly varying curves required make it impossible 



Benzine. SO Bin. 

to keep a stock of patterns on hand for the purpose. 
Hence, all manner of devices for moulding are resorted to, 
to save pattern-making, and, at the same time, obtain a 
good casting. See Jobbin^g-moulder ; Loam-pattern ; 
Touch. 

Benzine. — A limpid, oily fluid, resembling oil of tur- 
pentine. It is composed of hydrogen and carbon formed 
during the destructive distillation of coal. It readily dis- 
solves caoutchouc, gutta-percha, wax, camphor, and fats, 
and is useful for removing grease-spots from silk and 
woollen. See Tar. 

Beryl. — A mineral of great hardness occurring in 
green and bluish-green six-sided prisms. It is ranked 
among the gems, and is nearly identical with emerald, but 
is not so brilliant in color. It is infusible; with borax it 
fuses into a transparent glasS. Its composition is : silex 68, 
alumina 15, glucine 14, lime 2, oxide of iron 1. See Em- 
erald; Precious Stones. 

Bessemer Steel. — This process of making steel was 
patented in 1856 by the inventor, Henry Bessemer, and 
consists in converting the pig-iron into malleable iron, as 
a preliminary operation, by blowing air through the mass 
of molted metal, previously introduced into a converter, 
until all the carbon, silicon, sulphur, and phosphorus has 
been burned out, and then converting this into steel by 
the addition of a small quantity of a peculiar cast iron of 
known composition, called Spiegeleisen. See Converter; 
Spiegeleisen; Oast Steel; Open-hearth Steel. 

Bin. — A wood or iron box for storing charcoal, sea-coal, 
lead, flour, or any other commodity used in the foundry. 
The providing of such repositories effects a considerable 



Binding- plates. 51 Bismuth. 

saving over the too common practice of having such things 
loose around the foundry in barrels. 

Bilicliiig-plates. — Thin plates cast by the loam- 
moulder to strengthen weak walls in copes and cores built 
with bricks. They are bedded, at intervals, on soft loam 
and the building continued over tbem. A slot or open- 
ing on one side allows of their being set without removing 
the spindle. If, when the slot is made, they should be 
considered too weak, extending lugs at that point will 
serve to clamp or bolt them fast, after they have passed 
the spindle and are bedded in place. For cores, the lugs 
are internal; for copes, external. They are often called 
building - rings. See Course ; Bricking - up ; Loam- 
moulding; Hoop-binder. 

Binder. — The name given to almost every device used 
in the foundry for binding moulds together before cast- 
ing, but in particular to the beams which rest over the 
copes of green and dry-sand moulds, as well as the covering- 
plates of loam-moulds, by which the upper portions of the 
moulds are made secure to the lower by means of clamps 
or bolts, in order to prevent any possibility of their being 
raised by the pressure of molten iron underneath them. 
See Pressure of Molten Metal. 

Bismuth. — A somewhat brittle metal, the color of 
which may be termed yellowish-white. It is a little harder 
than lead. Bismuth is found natural but impure in dif- 
ferent parts of Europe, in the veins or fissures of other 
rocks; also in combination with sulphur, arsenic, and oxy- 
gen. The pure metal is obtained by heating the impure 
metal, or native bismuth, in inclined cast-iron tubes, where 
the metal is volatilized and, the vapors condensing, run 
into receiving-vessels, and finally into moulds, where it 
solidifies with a crystalline texture. 



Bitumen. 53 Bitumen. 

At a high temperature, bismuth is slightly volatile and 
oxidizes rapidly. Its fusing-point is 507°, but it alloys 
with other metals to form fusible mixtures, which melt 
even below 212°. 

The specific gravity of this metal is 9.8. 

The fusibility of other metals is increased by bismuth, and 
its peculiar property of expanding while cooling makes it 
highly valuable as an ingredient in type-founders' alloys. 

A slight addition of mercury imparts greater fusibility 
to bismuth alloys. 

Alloys containing bismuth should always be cooled 
quickly, to prevent the separation of bismuth. 

Gold alloyed with bismuth forms a brassy composition 
of a brittle nature, and the ductility of gold is impaired 
even by its fumes. 

It is seldom that bismuth is employed alone in the arts, 
but it forms an important ingredient in many mixtures for 
solder, type-metal, fusible alloys, etc. 

Bismuth is separated from lead by dissolving the mixed 
metal in nitric acid; add caustic potash in excess, and the 
oxides of bismuth and lead will be precipitated, but the 
lead oxide will be at once redissolved by the alkali. The 
oxide of bismuth can then be separated by filtration, 
washed, and ignited. See Solders ; Type-metal ; Fusi- 
ble Alloys; Separating Metals; Expanding Alloys. 

Bitumen. — Besides coal there is found in the earth a 
class of inflammable bodies — liquids, semi-liquids, and sol- 
ids — which possess properties very similar. The purest and 
most fluid of these hydrocarbons is naplitha ; when of the 
consistence of oil it is termed yetroleuin ; slightly thicker 
it is pitch; after which we have elastic bitumen, and in its 
hardened state it is called asplialkim. 

Naphtha dissolves bit-um'en and caoutchouc. See Petro- 
leum; Asphaltum, 



Bituminous Coal. 53 Black Lead. 

Bituminous Coal.— See Coal. 

Black-flux.— See Flux. 

Blacking. — A general name for all classes of carbon- 
facings used in foundries. See Facing; Black Lead; 
Charcoal; Graphite. 

Blacking-bag. — A coarse linen or worsted bag to 
hold chai-coal-dust or other facing, and by means of which 
to distribute the same evenly over the surface of green- 
sand moulds by a process of shaking. The loose dust is 
afterward pressed close by returning the pattern, or with 
the moulder's tools. See Facing; Printing. 

Black Lead. — The name commonly given to plum- 
bago, or India-silver lead-facings. It is called "India 
silver'^ because it is mined in India, on the island of 
Ceylon, and because it yields a polisli of a silvery tone. 
The Jos. Dixon Crucible Company classify the several kinds 
as : Plumbago-facing for common work ; German or Bo- 
hemian lead for flat moulding; Ex, Ex, plumbago-facing for 
stove-plate, printing and copying presses ; India-silver lead 
for light and ordinary job-moulding ; " XX," plumbago for 
heavy cast-iron and steel castings; and Founders' core-wash 
for cores, loam, and dry-sand work — at prices from 10c. to 
o^c. per pound, in the order given. 

One kind works with dry sand, and is used as a wash ; 
another works with green sand, and through a shake or 
blacking-bag; still another, with green sand, to be laid on 
the surface Avitli a brush. Some facings require, for per- 
fect lines, a little dusting of powdered charcoal. Some 
brands will slick with the tools ; others not — making it 
necessary for the parties ordering these facings to specify 
what use they intend to put them to. Such kinds as 



Black Sand. 54 Black Varnishes. 

admit of easy slicking on green-sand moulds are the most 
useful ; as when this operation is properly done with good 
material, it will neither burn nor run before the molten 
metal, but adhere firmly to the sand surface, causing it to 
part clean from the casting, giving it a uniform bright 
color. See Facikg ; Graphite. 

Black Sand is sometimes termed "old sand," and 
is the sand which constitutes what is called the foundry 
floor. When first introduced into the foundry the new 
sand is usually of a yellow or brownish color, sometimes 
red ; but by subsequent use for casting purposes, it be- 
comes burnt, or "old." The facing mixtures, containing 
sea-coal dust, is gradually insinuated among the floor- 
also ; these, along with the constant use of charcoal and 
lead-facings, cause the change in color of the original sand. 
For all parts of thin castings, which are far removed from 
the gates, this old sand, if fine originally, is to be preferred 
as a facing, because the constant burning to which it has 
been subjected has eliminated all clayey and other deleter- 
ious ingredients ; thus forming a surface upon which the 
molten iron will placidly rest free from the disturbing in- 
fluences of the gas-producing substances ordinarily found 
in new-sand. See New-sand ; Facing-sand ; Facing. 

Black Solder. — Copper 32, zinc 32, tin 4. See Sol- 
ders. 

Black Varnishes. — For ixdterns, alcohol 1 gall. ; 
shellac 1 lb. ; lamp-black sufficient to color it. Let it 
stand in a warm place, and stir occasionally. 

For castings, tar oil 20 lbs.; asphaltum 5 lbs.; powdered 
resin 5 lbs. Heat all togethe rin an iron kettle, and be 
careful to avoid ignition. See Varnishes. 



i 



Black wash. 55 Blakney Cupola. 

Black- wash. — A refractory mixture for coating the 
surfaces of loam and dry-sand moulds and dry-sand cores, 
to protect the sand from burning by the interposition of a 
coat of carbon between it and the molten metal. 

The compositions for this purpose are various, but the 
principal ingredients entering therein are charcoal-dust, 
silver lead, mineral, and hard Lehigh blacking ; these, in 
varying proportions, are mixed with thin clay-water to a 
suitable consistency and applied with a swab or brush. 
See Facing. 

Blakney Cupola. — The Blakney cupola consists 
principally of a system of tuyeres, by which, it is claimed, 
the air is so distributed or projected into the furnace as to 
produce a uniform heat, giving the iron a uniform strength 
for all kinds of castings. The features peculiar to the 
above furnace are as follows : 

The introduction of a combination of curved tuyeres or 
chutes placed upon the wall or lining of the cupola, and 
forming a part of the wall, a proper distance from the 
bottom and nearly surrounding the inner and outer sides 
of the wall. The tuyeres are made of cast iron and in sec- 
tions for convenience of handling. A blank space is left 
in the rear of the cupola two feet wide, through which the 
slag is blown, if required. 

A chamber or base extending around the cupola in- 
closes the space in which the air is conducted to the 
tuyeres. The bottom of this chamber, made irregular in 
form, hollows at suitable intervals to allow the metal to 
flow to the escape openings, in case it overflows through 
the tuyeres. The openings are closed with fusible plugs of 
lead or other material to be melted out by the molten 
metal. 

The blast is conducted to this cupola through one pipe, 
and, striking the blank space sidewise in rear of chamber. 



Blast. 56 Blast gates. 

passes all around through tlie curved tuyeres into tlie 
centre of the furnace, the blast striking into the cupola 
every J of an inch horizontal, and 3f inches perpendicu- 
lar, or according to diameter of cupola. 

As a producer of a uniform grade of iron for the purpose 
of casting car-wheels it is just what is needed for the differ- 
ent grades of iron to prevent chill-cracking. 

This cupola, with its many superior advantages, has also 
rows of shelves bolted to the shell four feet apart up to the 
top of the charging-door, so that it will not be necessary to 
tear out any of the lining except that which is burned out. 

Blast is air forced into a cupola or furnace by a blow- 
ing-engine, blower, or fan for the purpose of increasing 
combustion. If heated it is then called hot blast, and cold 
blast when it enters the cupola or furnace direct from the 
atmosphere. See Cupola ; Blowers ; Blast-pipes. 

Blast-furnace.— See Smelting-furnace ; Cupola ; 
Cast Iroit. 

Blast-gates. — The apparatus for opening and closing 
pipes supplying blast to cupolas, furnaces, etc.; for use also 
in exhaust-pipe systems where shavings, dust, smoke, and 
the like are to be removed, or for regulating the distribu- 
tion of heated air. 

The lever style of blast-gate can be readily manipulated 
by cords, and is very convenient in cases where it cannot 
be reached otherwise. The slide style of blast-gate is per- 
haps as common as any. These should always be made of 
metal and kept clean ; otherwise they become troublesome 
and inefficacious. It is very important to know that the 
use of blast-gates to close pipes, when not in use, insures a 
great saving of power, as a blower requires far less power to 
drive it with closed connections than with open ones. 



Blast gauge. 57 Blast pipej, 

Blast-gates are furnished by the manufacturers in sizes 
from 1^ inches to 30 inches, small sizes being made in com- 
position and the larger ones in iron, and these are always to 
be preferred to such as are usually provided by the foundry 
tinker. See Cupola; Blast-pipes; Blowers. 

Blast-g'aug'e is an apparatus to be attached to the 
wind-box of a cupola for indicating the pressure in blast- 
pipes. They are of simple construction and may be pur- 
chased from the makers at prices varying from |10 to $15, 
according to size and degree of finish. Ordinarily, the blast- 
gauge consists of a siphon-tube with equal legs, half-filled 
with mercury, one end entering the wind-box, the other be- 
ing open to the atmosphere. A stop-cock may be provided 
between this gauge and the wind-box, so that it may be shut 
oil at pleasure. When the stop-cock is open, the blast press- 
ure acting on the mercury in one leg of the gauge presses 
it down, and the mercury in the other leg rises. The dif- 
ference between the two columns is the height of mercury, 
which corresponds to the excess of the pressure of blast in 
the wind-box above the pressure of the atmosphere ; or, in 
other words, to the effective pressure of blast in the blast- 
pipes. If 16 ounces be allowed for every 2 inclies of the 
length of this column, or 1 ounce for every 4 inch, the 
effective pressure of blast, in ounces per square inch, is 
thus obtained. See Cupola; Blast-pipes; Blowers. 

Blast-pil^es are conducting-pipes from the blower 
to the cupola. These should always be made of iron and 
perfectly air-tight, and sufficiently large to convey the air 
without undue loss by friction. When the pipes are too 
small, a greatly increased velocity is required to discharge 
a given amount of air, with a larger proportional increase 
of fractional surfaces. 

All turns or elbows in conducting-pipes are objectionable 



Blast Pressure. 58 Blister. 

ill the extreme, and should as much as possible be avoided, 
as from this cause the direction of the current is changed 
and the friction greatly increased. Air moving through 
blast-pipes expends a portion of its force in the friction of 
its particles along the sides of the pipes, with a consequent 
reduction in the pressure. 

In many cases the blower may be condemned as ineffi- 
cent when the pipe itself is the real cause of the trouble by 
reason of its too small diameter, its great length, or the 
number of bends or elbows it contains. The diameter of 
the blast-pipe should always be increased in proportion as 
the length is increased. 

The main blast-pipe for cupolas 24 to 29 inches diameter 
should be not less than 10 inches diameter, 30 to 33 inches, 
12 inches diameter ; 34 to 39 inches, 14 inches diameter ; 
40 to 45 inclies, 16 inches diameter ; 46 to 51 inches, 18 
inches diameter ; 52 to 57 inches, 20 inches diameter ; 58 
to 70 inches, 22 inches diameter, and 24 inches for cupola's 
over 70 inches diameter. See Cupola; Blast; Blower; 
Combustion. 

Blast Pressure. — The blast should always be deliv- 
ered at a pressure sufficient to force its way freely through 
the whole contents of the cupola, and this is effected in 
cupolas from 20 to 80 inches diameter by a pressure of from 
5 to 16 ounces per square inch. See Cupola; Charging 
THE Common Cupola; Blast-pipes. 

Blister. — A cavity or hollow usually found in the 
upper surfaces of castings. They are imprisoned gases, 
which, having no means of escaping before the metal con- 
geals, arrange themselves in various sizes and shapes under 
a thin film of metal. They are found sometimes on the 
top side of pipes and columns, and in this case may be 
caused by the steam from a damp core, which, not having 



Blistered Steel. 59 Blistered Steel. 

a ready means of escape tlirough the vents, finds its way 
into the mould. Another fruitful cause of blisters is rusty 
chaplets and studs, which give off considerable gaseous 
compounds as the rust decomposes. Blisters are almost 
certain to ensue when a green sand surface, core, or cope 
is too damp or wet in spots. Should there be no vents at 
that particular part to lead away the steam as fast as it 
generates, it must inevitably find its way into the mould, 
the result being blisters. 

Sometimes blisters are caused by the sulphurous gas con- 
tained in the iron itself, which, if it once enter the mould, 
acts exactly like the gases we have noticed above. Such 
gas as may be mingled with the iron will naturally ascend 
to the top if the moukVs formation is favorable to its rapid 
transit in that direction; but, should it be otherwise, the 
probabilities are that it will be found imprisoned at whatever 
part of the mould it happened to be when the latter had 
received its fill of metal. Kemote risers do not in the least 
affect this phenomenon, as the currents of metal leading 
thereto may, and usually are, far removed from the already 
formed blisters in congealed parts of the casting. In- 
creased pressure will assist to force mould-gases out at the 
legitimate vents, but will render small help to expel such 
as may be contained in the metal itself, when the ordinary 
processes of moulding is employed. See Venting ; 
Pressing Fluid Steel; Rust; Paste. 

Blistered Steel.— A remarkable modification of iron 
intermediate between cast and wrought iron, containing 
less carbon than cast iron, but more than wrought (about 
1| per cent). It is made by imbedding bars of best 
wrought iron in powdered charcoal in boxes or sand- 
furnaces which exclude the air, and heating intensely 
for a week or ten days. The steel, when withdrawn, 
has a peculiar, rough, blistered appearance, and for 



Block moulding. 60 Blower. 

this reason is called blistercd-steel. See Cementation; 
Cast Steel. 

« 
Block-moulding. — A device for producing thin, 
delicate castings, by first obtaining correct impressions in 
plaster of cope and nowel side of the pattern, upon which 
the respective parts are rammed separately in flasks which 
fit interchangeably. By this means all the moulds are 
exact impressions of the original pattern, as all danger of 
ramming out of shape is obviated.. The match-parts and 
flasks being all interchangeable, there is no possibility of 
error. See Plate-moulding; Match-part. 

Block-print. — A large core print on a pattern, the 
impression of which receives a core containing some part 
of the mould, which if moulded from the pattern would 
require much more time, besides superior skill to per- 
form it. The core is termed a block core. See Core- 
print. 

Blower. — The name now applied to designate almost 
all descriptions of machines for creating an artificial cur- 
rent of air by pressure. It is claimed for the positive press- 
ure-blowers, now in constant use, that they measure and 
force forward at each revolution a fixed quantity of air, 
whether the pressure be high or low or the speed fast or 
slow; and the amount of air delivered can be accurately 
determined and controlled, and the exact quantity neces- 
sary to effect the perfect combustion of a given amount of 
fuel at a given time supplied with perfect certainty. 

The blowing-engine or piston-blower also gives a forced 
blast, but it is not so good for the cupola as the positive 
blower, because the blast produced is irregular and comes 
in puffs with every motion of the piston, making it neces- 
sary to provide a large receiver to equalize the blast. This 



Blow-holes. Gl Bogie. 

is, of course, both expensive and bulky. This class are 
sometimes called cylinder-blowers. 

The common fan-blower, a rotative blowing-machine, 
consisting of vanes turning upon an axis, lias nothing posi- 
tive in its operation. The wings merely beat the air, im- 
parting a momentum corresponding with the velocity, but, 
as resistance is opposed to the blast, the volume is dimin- 
ished in the ratio of the resistance till a point is reached 
where the momentum and the resistance are equal, when 
no air whatever is discharged; but the fan-wheel continues 
to revolve in the case with great rapidity, absorbing a large 
amount of power, but doing no work at all. See Cupola; 
Blast; CoMBUSxioi^. 

Blow-holes. — Another name for blisters, but more 
correctly meaning" such holes as are further removed 
from the surface, or, perhaps, entire holes from the sur- 
face down; while a blister is so called because of the thin 
skin of metal which covers the hole. See Blister; Vent- 
ing; Paste. 

Blowing. — The rushing, roaring noise created by the 
forcible ejection of gases at the runners and risers when 
the vents are insufficient to carry them away, or are acci- 
dentally choked, is by the moulders termed "blowing." 
See Venting. 

Board. — An abbreviation of sweep-board. See Sweep- 
board. 

Bod-stick. — Another name for bott-stick. See Bott- 

STICK. 

Bogie. — The name sometimes given to swivelled 
trucks and carriages used about the foundry or forge. 



Bog-iron Ore. 62 Bott-clay. 

Bog-iron Ore occurs chiefly in allmial soils, in 
bogs, meadows, lakes, etc. It is a mineral of very variable 
composition, but regarded as consisting essentially of per- 
oxide of iron and water — peroxide of iron GO per cent, 
water 20 per cent. Phosphoric acid is usually present in 
quantities varying from 2 to 11 per cent ; silicic acid, alu- 
minia, oxide of manganese, and other substances which 
seem accidentally present make up the rest. See Okes. 

Boiled Oil.— See Oils. 

Boiler-mouldiiig is almost a distinct class of 
moulding, belonging to what is denominated hoUotu-iuare 
icorh, although the larger description of boilers are some- 
times moulded in loam after the manner of kettles. See 
Hollow- WAKE Moulding ; Kettles. 

Boiling-point.— See Ebullition^. 

Borax is procured by heating boracic acid with car- 
bonate of soda, the carbonic acid being expelled and the 
boracic acid taking its place. This salt has an alkaline 
taste and reaction, and possesses the property of dissolving 
many metallic oxides; hence its use as a flux in the weld- 
ing of metals. It dissolves off the coating of oxide formed 
when they are heated, thus presenting a clean surface. 
See Flux; Solders. 

Boshes. — That part of a cupola immediately above the 
tuyeres. In large cupolas and blast-furnaces this part is 
gradually contracted from the widest part to the hearth, 
and the bricks used for this purpose are distinguished as 
bosh-bricks. See Cupola; Water-boshes. 

Bott-clay. — The clay used for stopping up the tap- 
hole in the cupola. Any good, ordinary clay will answer 



Bott-stick. C3 Bott-stick. 

for this purpose, but it requires more tliun ordinary care 
to bring it to tbe right condition for effective use. If too 
soft it is impossible to fill the hole with a firm plug, and 
if too hard it refuses to yield to the form of the hole, so 
that in either case there is danger, because, as the bottom 
fills, the pressure increases and the imperfect plug is forced 
out. Besides being of the right consistency, there should 
also be mixed with it a quantity of sea-coal; this prevents 
in a large measure the sputtering usually attendant upon 
the use of the raw clay. The operation of tapping is ex- 
pedited also by this admixture of sea-coal, as it prevents 
to some exten tthe clay from baking hard, and for this 
reason is more easily picked out with the tapping-bar. 
See Bott-stick; Tapping-bar.' 

Bott-stick, sometimes called a "bod-stick," is the 
tool used by the cupola-man for plugging the tap-hole 
with clay after sufficient or all the iron has been allowed 
to run from the cupola. It may consist of a long iron rod 
about I inch diameter, one end of which is formed into an 
eye for ease in handling, and upon the other is forged a 
flat button, about 2 inches diameter, made with a corru- 
gated face in order that the clay bott which is pressed 
upon it may adhere thereto. For *^stopping-in" over- 
large ladles it is almost necessary to have an iron bott- 
stick, but when small ladles are in use, and the hole is 
opened frequently, a long wood shaft may be substituted 
for the iron rod by either forming the button on a spike 
and driving it in the end, which is prevented from split- 
ting by an iron band, or it may be formed on an iron 
socket made to receive the end of the shaft. The wood 
ones are much lighter and easier to handle than the iron 
ones. To use the bott-stick properly, see— first, that the 
button is cold and wet, a pail of water being kept near 
by for the purpose; second, that the clay bott is pressed 



Bottom-part. 64 Brass. 

firmly down upon it and worked with the band into the 
form of a cone; and thirdly, that the back-hand be slightly 
raised, pressing the clay into the hole from the upper side. 
By this means whatever commotion takes place when the 
molten iron touches the wet clay is in the immediate 
vicinity of the tap-hole in a downward direction, thus 
avoiding all the unpleasantness and danger caused by the 
spray of metal, which is thrown in all directions when the 
bott is thrust carelessly into the hole with the stick held in 
a horizontal position. See Bott-clay. 

Bottoin-i)art. — The nowel or drag. See Flasks. 

Bottom-plate.— See Foukdatiok-plate. 

Brass. — A yellow alloy of copper and zinc, much used 
for furnishing and decorating, as well as for parts of 
machinery. It is common to include other alloys, as cop- 
per and tin in this classification ; these, however, are not 
brass, but bronze, and will be found described under that 
head. When brass is manufactured on a large scale, it is 
usually made to contain: copper 2, zinc 1; but the alloys 
must necessarily vary according to the purposes for which 
they are intended. If more than ordinary tenacity is re- 
quired the alloy must consist of about : copper 16, zinc 4; 
but if a hard, brittle alloy possessing reduced resisting 
power is desired, the zinc may be increased to equal quan- 
tity with the copper, or even beyond that where, at copper 
1, zinc 2, the yellowness ceases entirely, and we have a 
brilliant bluish-white alloy of so crystalline a nature that 
it may be crushed in a mortar. 

The method of manufacturing brass in large quantities 
is to heat in crucibles a mixture of calamine, or carbonate 
of zinc, charcoal, and scrap, or grain copper, in the propor- 
tions thus : calamine and charcoal 3, copper 2. The 



Brass. 65 Brass. 

action of the white heat reduces the calamine, and sepa- 
rates the zinc, which, combining with the copper, forms a 
brass consisting of copper 2, zinc 1. 

Common ingot brass is made by the simple fusion of 
copper 16, zinc 8 ; but, owing to the volatility of zinc, the 
resultant proportions of the alloy are seldom to be relied 
upon, and calamine brass is preferred. The vapor of the 
zinc-ore by the latter mode combines more intimately with 
the copper. 

Yellow brass for filing and machining ranges from : cop- 
per 16, zinc 4, to copper 16, zinc 9. Up to this propor- 
tion brass remains very ductile and malleable ; beyond it, 
the crystalline nature asserts itself in proportion as the zinc 
is increased. Copper and zinc mix in all proportions, but it 
requires the greatest care in mixing to obtain the proportions 
aimed for, owing to the zinc's volatility, as before stated. 

With reference to the color of brass alloys, copper-red 
gives place to yellow at copper 16, zinc 4, and maintains 
about the same hue up to copper 16, zinc 10 ; when it 
gradually becomes lighter up to copper 1, zinc 2 — which 
as before stated, is a bluish-white with a brilliant silvery 
lustre when polished. 

The fusibility of brass increases with the zinc ; so that 
the metal from copper 16, zinc 7, up to copper 16, zinc 15, 
is eminently adapted for running a large class of furnish- 
ing and decorative-work ; but before such brittle metal as 
this is subjected to the various processes of cleaning, dip- 
ping, lacquering, and bronzing, it is invariably annealed. 

The specific gravity of brass is greater than that deduci- 
ble from the specific gravity of the metals composing it. 

The brass for ornament is prevented from tarnishing by 
lacquering and bronzing. The former consists of coating 
with shellac inspirit, with some coloring; the latter pro- 
cess being effected by the application of metallic solutions, 
after a course of cleansing in acids. 



Brass. 



66 



Brass. 



Brass from copper 50, zinc 50, to copper 63, zinc 37, 
may be rolled into sheets and otherwise worked when 
heated to a red heat; but, according to Muntz, copper 60, 
zinc 40, is the best proportion. When brass is made for 
this purpose it is cast into ingots, then heated and rolled. 

Brass is made hard by hammering or rolling, but its 
temper may be again drawn by heating to a cherry-red and 
plunging it in water. 

Copper-castings are, to a great extent, freed from poros- 
ity or honeycombing by the addition of from ^ to 1 ounce 
of zinc to 16 ounces of copper. 

The following compositions are alloys of copper and zinc 
only, which constitute true brass: 



COPPER AND ZINC ALLOYS. 



Copper castings are made solid by 

Brass gilt for jewelry, etc., bronze color 

Heavy Machinery bearings 

Sheet brass, red 

Tough engine brass 

Brass to imitate gold 

Bristol brass, solders well 

Brass wire 

Brass castings, ordinary 

Muntz metal (one extreme) 

" ( " " ) 

Pale-yellow brass for dipping (spelter solder for 

copper or iron) 

Another dipping-brass 

Spelter solder for brass 

Speculum metal 

Mosaic gold 



Copper. 



Zinc. 



16 


itol 


16 


1 toH 


82 


1 


16 


3 


20 


3 


16 


3ito4 


16 


6 


16 


7 


16 


8 


16 


9 to 10| 


16 


16 


16 


12 


IG 


14 


16 


16 


100 


m 



As a supplement to the above, the author appends the 
following list of mixtures, which are largely original, and of 
known excellence for the numerous purposes mentioned : 



Brass. 



67 



Brass. 



MISCELLANEOUS MIXTURES^ FOR GENERAL 
MACHINERY PURPOSES, ETC. 



Soft Macliiuery brass 

Large steps or beariugs (commou). 

" " " (good) .. 

" " •' (best).... 

Small " " " 

Ordinary D valves 

Extra large " " 

Delivery valve-lids 

Larg-e bells 



Small clock-bells 

General machinery brass 

" (good) 

" " " (collars, etc.). . 

Large cocks 

Small " 

Common " . 

Yel low brass 

" (good) 

" (better) 

Brass for cutting- wheels 

Roller brass 

Large copper rivets 

Small " " 

Lathe-busbes 

Pulley-blocks. 

Wheels 

Gun-metals 

Connecting-rod steps 

Valve-spindles 

Valves and seatings 

Piston-rings 

Brass to expand by heat equal with iron 



16 
16 
16 
16 
16 
16 
16 
16 
16 
16 
16 
16 
16 
16 
16 
16 
16 
16 
16 
16 
16 
16 
16 
16 
16 
16 
16 
16 
13 
16 
16 
80 
79 



2 
2 
1 

n 

2 



n 

3 

1 

15 

15 



For further information on this subject, see Alloy; 
Brass-furnace; Brass-moulding; Brass-tempering; 
Brass-scrap; Bells; Bronze; Cementation; Copper; 
Sheathing-metal; Solders; Lacquering; Zinc; Gas- 
blast Furnace; Portable Furnace; Hard Alloy. 



Brass-furnace. 68 Brass-furnace. 

Brass-furniice. — The common method of erecting 
brass-furnaces for melting in crucibles is to build them on 
one side of the shop. The insides are formed within cast 
or wrought iron casings, from 18 to 20 inches diameter and 
about 36 inches liigh. These are ranged over the ash-pit, 
and the air is supplied through gratings set even with the 
foundry floor, through which the air finds its way to the 
pit below. Usually the tops of the furnaces stand about 
9 inches above the floor and are covered while in operation 
with a cast-iron doomed door. The casings are fire-brick 
lined to a suitable diameter that will leave the requisite 
amount of fuel to surround the crucible. A small hole, 
about 6 inches square, is left near the top, which connects 
with the flue leading to the chimney. If a row of such 
furnaces are thus constructed, there should be a separate 
flue for each, so that one or more of them may be em- 
ployed at any time without any interference with the 
draft. The chimney in all cases should be a tall one to 
encourage the draft. 

Portable brass-furnaces, round and square, are now sup- 
plied by the dealers. They are simply an iron casing, com- 
plete in all respects, except the lining; can be located at 
any part of the foundry, and connected with the chimney. 

The Gas-blast Melting Furnace manufactured by the 
American Gas Furnace Company is now extensively em- 
ployed for all purposes of crucible melting. A positive air- 
pressure maintains perfect combustion of the gas, and clean- 
liness is secured by the entire absence of soot. The best 
results are attained in these furnaces by securing perfect 
combustion and by confining the space to be heated to the 
smallest possible limits consistent with convenience. These 
furnaces are made in sizes to suit Dixon's block cruci- 
bles from Nos. to 200; special fire-bricks being made for 
every sized furnace (see Gas-blast Furnace). Very fre- 
quently the cupola is employed when a large quantity 



Brass-furnace. 69 Brass-furnace. 

of metal is wanted. A much better mode, however, is to 
provide a reverberatory or air-i'urnace in close proximity to 
the brass-foundry, or wherever it may be customary to cast 
heavy brass-work. 

The Garrett Furnace, a fire-brick construction after the 
manner of an air-furnace, is described by the inventor as 
follows : 

"In a shop where any considerable amount of brass is 
melted, the method of melting in a crucible is wasteful and 
expensive. The Garrett Furnace not only saves the cost of 
crucibles, but is also economical of metal, fuel, and labor, 
besides reducing the time of melting a charge from one 
half to two thirds. This furnace was especially designed 
for full gas, but with a slight modification of details it 
could be used with soft coal or crude oil as a fuel. 

There is a slant hole for charging coils of copper wire or 
material difficult to compress into a small space. Smaller 
pieces, bars, or plates are introduced through the charging- 
door. The bosh for the molten metal is located below the 
melting-chamber, being 33 inches wide by 18 inches high 
from the bed to the top of the arch, which is composed as 
shown, and has filling above and between it and the bottom 
of the charging-chamber, made of fire-clay and sand. The 
bed of the bosh is undulated being composed of a mixture 
of fire-clay and sand, which makes it as hard as a crucible 
and will last from two to seven weeks without repair, ac- 
cording to the Avork required of it. Below the bosh gas- 
flues are provided, two 6-inch by 6-inch for gas and two 
the same size and adjacent for air. The gas is brought to 
the gas-flues by two ^ inch gas-pipes having valves for regu- 
lating the supply, and passes along the flues to a combus- 
tion-chamber, 12 inches wide, 36 inches long, where it 
mixes with air, ascends and passes over the bridge, and is 
divided into two flames, one larger than the other. The 
large flame passes over the bosh to the flue, and the other 



Brass Mirrors. <0 Brass Moulding. 

flame passes through the melting-cli amber to the flue. 
Dampers are provided in the flues to regulate the supply 
of gas, or proportion it for either of the chambers as de- 
sired. One flue is 4 inches by 10 inches, and the other 
is 8 inches by 10 inches, both entering into a stack-flue 16 
inches square. 

A door is provided to give access to the combustion- 
chamber and bridge, and another door, gives access to the 
bosh. See Brass; Portable Furn'aces. 

Brass Mirrors. — These mirrors are of classical an- 
tiquity, and were made from an alloy known as speculum 
metal, which produces a very hard metal with great reflect- 
ing power; but it is now very seldom met with. A good 
speculum metal, very white and hard as steel, is composed 
of equal parts of copper and tin. Copper 7, tin 4, zinc 3, 
form an alloy of a light yellow color, possessing much lustre. 
This alloy is sometimes made from copper 2, tin 1, with 
the addition of y^g- arsenic. Lord Rosse's composition was: 
copper 252.8, tin 117.8. See Speculum Metals; Rosse's 
Telescope ; Brass. 

Brass Mixtures.— See Brass. 

Brass Moulding. — So far as the actual moulding is 
concerned there is very little to distinguish it from the or- 
dinary course pursued for producing castings in iron. For 
the larger castings in dry-sand and loam, exactly similar 
moulds are made, but for the very light brass castings in 
green sand it is necessary to have a very fine silex sand, which 
contains a slight portion of clay. When the sand contains 
clay in excess it favors the production of the finest work; 
but there is always danger of blown spots when this is used, 
only to be remedied by drying the moulds, or introducing 
more open sand, to permit the gases generated at pouring 



Brass Scraps. ^1 Brass Scraps. 

to escape. It is not necessary to cast brass any liotter than 
will result in clear, sharp outlines in the casting. 

As a rule, most brass castings will be freer from honey- 
combs, if the metal is forced in at the lowest part of the 
mould, taking care that suitable vents are provided for 
carrying off the gas as it generates in the mould. 

The fact that all sands taken from the earth must con- 
tain more or less vegetable matter, which burns out as soon 
as the metal strikes it, making a rough and unfinished 
looking casting, has prompted some dealers to prepare a 
composition of minerals, crushed and put through a pro- 
cess known alone to themselves, where every trace of vege- 
table or any other matter not standing a high fire-test is 
extracted, the sand being usually ground and bolted. See 
Brass; Facing-sand; Eock-crusher. 

Brass Scraps. — Old brass, judiciously selected, may 
be made to do excellent service. As the regulation mixt- 
ures for the several articles made in brass are pretty much 
the same all over, it is a simple matter to make such choice 
from the old scraps as will almost answer present needs 
very often by making such additions as are necessary to 
bring the mixture up to the required standard in any of 
the metals which the scrap may be lacking in. Another 
important feature in using scrap-brass is to remember that, 
when it is melted over again, more or less of the zinc and 
lead oxidizes and wastes; this, of course, changes the original 
proportions, and must be made good by additions of the above 
metals. For old brass that has been remelted more than 
once, it is well to add 1 pound of lead to IG pounds of 
scrap; a little less will do when the metal has not been recast. 

Brass borings and turnings may be melted with little 
or no waste by packing the crucible full and hard, using 
a cover and luting it well. Add a little lead when melted. 
See Brass; Crucible. 



Brass-tempering. ^ ^ Breast-hole. 

Brass-tempering.— Brass containing the least zinc 
is the softest and most easily wrought but, with a pro- 
portion of one fourth, brass is still perfectly malleable 
when cold. Hammering increases or creates elasticity in 
brass, destroys its flexibility, adds considerably to its dur- 
ability, and imparts magnetic power. If it is desired to 
draw the temper again, heat to a cherry-red, and immerse 
the article in water. See Bkass; Tempering. 

Brass to Dull.— See Dulled Brass. 

Brazing. — Soldering with an alloy of copper and zinc. 
This operation is usually confined to joining copper, zinc, 
and iron surfaces, and in order to effect a solid junction 
the surfaces to be united must be made clean and bright. 
The brazing alloy, after being granulated, must be wetted 
with ground borax and water and then dried, after which 
it must be strewn over the gap or crevice, or between the 
two pieces to be united, which are then exposed to heat 
until the solder flows between them. The solder may be 
rendered more fusible by the addition of a little zinc. 
See Soldering; Solders; Cast Iron^ to Braze. 

Breast-hole is the hole in front of the cupola, just 
back of the spout, at which place the tap-hole is formed. 
Much of the trouble caused by slag gathering at the tap- 
hole is attributable to the very careless manner in forming 
the tap-hole. Sand is used for this purpose without refer- 
ence to its refractoriness, the consequence being that the 
intense heat gradually melts it into slag, and it issues from 
the hole at every tap. If the heated fuel in front is made 
as level as possible, filling all the spaces with pieces of coke 
before the sand is introduced, and no more than about 
three inches of a well-dampened and refractory mixture be 
rammed therein, much if not all of the trouble from slag 



Bricks. « 3 Britannia Metal. 

at tbit point will cease. See Cupola; Spout ; Slag; Tap- 
hole. 

Bricks. — Good common bricks have about the follow- 
ing composition : silicia f , alumina |, lime, magnesia, soda, 
iron, potash, and water being included in the other fifth. 
The American brick varies in size from 7J to 8J inches long, 
4 to 4|^ wide, and 2| to 2|- thick. English bricks average 
9 inches long, 4|- wide, and 2^ thick. A too severe fire in 
the kiln fuses the brick and causes hard clinkers ; on the 
other hand, insufficient burning causes a soft brick unfit 
for use. See Fire-brick. 

Bricking'-iip. — A relative term for bricklaying, and 
meant by moulders to imply the process of forming the 
containing- walls of a loam-mould. Bricks in this instance 
take the place of flasks, the needed rigidity being imparted 
by binding-plates which, if necessary, may be further 
strengthened by bolting the sections together. The sweep- 
board is the guide for laying, and the bricks are set 
apart for fine cinders to form passages for the gases. See 
KouGHiNG-up; Skinni^g-loam; Sweep-board; Bind- 
ing-plates; Course; Filling-in. 

Brimstone. — See Sulphur. 

Britannia Metal. — A tableware alloy, with some 
resemblance of silver. Articles made from this alloy were 
formerly made by stamping with dies, but this has been 
superseded by the more efficient method of spinning. One 
mixture for this metal is: brass 4, tin 4; after fusing add 
bismuth 4, antimony 4 — this composition to be added at 
discretion to melted tin. Another is to make up a hard- 
ening compound of copper 2, tin 1. This is made separate 
and used with other ingredients as follows: 



Broken Castings. 



u 



Brushes. 



BRITANNIA METAL. 



Best quality 

Good " 

Melal for casting 

" '* spinning .. . 

" " registers . . . . 

" " spouts 

" " spoons 

** " handles 

" " pillars, lamps 



Tin. 


Hard- 
ening. 


Copper. 


150 
140 
210 
100 
100 
140 
100 
140 
300 




8 
""5"' 


3 
3 
4 

" "3" 

""'2'" 
4 



Anti- 
mony. 



10 

9 

12 

4 

8 
6 

10 
6 

15 



See Alloys; Tin"; Antimoj^y; 
Metals; White Alloys. 



Copper; Spinning 



Broken Castings.— See Burnin^g. 

Bronze. — A mixed metal, consisting chiefly of copper 
with a small proportion of tin, and sometimes of other 
metals. It is used for casting statues, bells, guns, and 
numerous other articles, in all of which the ingredients are 
of varying proportions. For a description of the various 
bronzes, see Aluminum -bronze; Phosphor-bronze; 
Manganese-bronze; Statuary; Bells; Deoxidized 
-Bronze; Vinegar -bronze; Gun -metal, and other 
bronzes. Also, Copper; Tin; Zinc; Fontainemoreau's 
Bronzes; Japanese Bronze-work. 

Bronzing Liqnids. See Stains for Metals. 



Brushes. — These implements are now made in infinite 
variety for foundry purposes. Among the number may 
be noticed the soft bristles for moulders' ordinary use; black- 
ening brushes of special manufacture for coating vertical 
moulds; flat English bristle for loam and dry-sand blacken- 



Buckling. 75 Bugs, 

ing; flat camel's-liair for distributing dry lead on green 
moulds, as well as for the finer classes of loam and dry- 
sand finishing, and steel-wire hand-brushes for cleaning 
castings. An improved steel-wire brush is a rotary, one 
that may be revolved by power. 

Buckling. — The seamy, unsightly scars to be seen on 
some castings when too much slicking and too little vent- 
ing have been expended on clayey loam or sand. When due 
attention to these shortcomings fails to work an improve- 
ment, it is evidence conclusive that more fire-sand is 
needed i» the facing-sand. See Slicker; Scabbed Cast- 
ings; Venting; Ramming; Facing-sand. 

Buckle-chain. See Swivel-chain. 

Bugs. — The name given in some places to the small 
shot-scrap made in the immediate vicinity of the cupola, and 
along the track of the ladles during the time of casting. 
No description of scrap is so difficult to manipulate as this. 
If charged in bulk at the commencement, no end of trouble 
is caused through the accumulations of dirty slag left be- 
hind, and which materially impedes the regular working 
of the cupola throughout the heat; whilst if it be used in 
small quantities with each charge, there is a possibility of 
more or less of the fine stuff falling through the openings 
and finding a lodgment near the tuyeres, or, what perhaps 
is worse, being carried past the melting-point unmelted, 
to be again resurrected by the tools of the machinist — a too 
frequent occurrence where such scrap is used indiscrimi- 
nately. The best method of utilizing this foundry pest is to 
choose a time when everything is convenient and before 
the last charge of good iron has got too low; charge the 
bugs along with a heavy proportion of some good softening 
pig or special compound, taking care that an extra charge 



Building-rings. 'J'B Burnt Iron. 

of fuel is used for the purpose. By running this mixture 
into pigs, to be remelted, there will be no risks taken, and 
all annoyances previously spoken of will certainly be ob- 
viated. See Cupola; Charging the Common Cupola. 

Building-rings. See Binding-plates. 

Bullet-mould. — This entire mould consists of a pair 
of hinged cheeks, with one or more spherical cavities 
reamed therein, connecting with an ingate through winch 
the melted lead is poured. They must fit exceedingly close 
when brought together. 

Burden. — The burden in the cupola or blast-furnace 
is supposed to be light when the proportion of fuel to ore 
or iron is large. When the fuel is proportionately small in 
the charge, the burden is then called heavy. See Charg- 
ing THE Common Cupola. 

Burning. — A phrase signifying brazing or mending 
broken castings by melting the joining edges and leaving 
the space filled with molten metal, which when set unites 
the parts. The common process consists of pouring a con- 
stant stream of hot fluid metal along the fissure or upon 
the surface until the parts are entirely fused, taking care 
to leave an excess of metal for subsequent chipping and 
trimming after it has become cold. See Brazing; Solder- 
ing. 

Burnt Iron is all such iron as may have been for a 
lengthened period subject to a heat somewhat below the 
melting-point, on which account it has become little better 
than an oxide of iron. Its color is of the various shades 
of red, such as may be noticed in burnt retorts, grates, fire- 
bars, etc. Iron of this description should be used sparingly 



Butt-rammer. 77 Calcareous Spar. 

along with a large proportion of high silicon pig, if used at 
all. Any attempt to reduce such iron without a considerable 
admixture of good softener is sure to result in pasty and 
sluggish iron accompanied by an extraordinary amount of 
slag, which plays havoc with the cupola. The great amount 
of waste which occurs in melting this class of iron is of 
such extent as to make the operation a loss almost every 
way. See Charging the Common Cupola; Cupola. 

Butt-ranimer is usually a heavy rammer with a flat, 
round, or square face, forged or cast to a long rod or piece 
of tubing, with which to complete a course of ramming 
after the pegging-rammer has forced the soft sand well 
down on the course immediately underneath. See Peg- 
ging-rammer. 

C. 

Cadmium. — A somewhat rare metal found associated 
with zinc in nature, and is similar to that metal in its 
chemical relations. When exposed to the air it tarnishes. 
Cadmium is a lustrous bluish-white metal; melts and 
volatilizes at a temperature below redness, and if heated 
in the air it takes fire and burns to a brown oxide. See 
Zinc. 

Cage Iron. — A skeleton core iron, used for such 
cores as the jackets of cylinders, etc. See Skeleton 
Core Iron. 

Calamine. — A native carbonate of zinc, used in mak- 
ing brass. See Brass; Zinc. 

Calcareous Spar. — A carbonate of lime, occurring 
principally in grayish-white crystals. It is infusible, falls 
into quicklime before the blowpipe, and effervesces with 



Calcination. 78 Caliper. 

acids; its composition is lime 57, carbonic acid 43. This 
mineral is of universal occurrence, and sometimes it is 
found, tinged with various shades of color, owing to the 
presence of manganese, iron, and other impurities. 

Calcination. — The process by which some bodies by 
the action of fire are reduced to the condition of a calx 
or cinder. Most of the metals can be reduced to this 
condition, which renders them easily reducible to powder. 
By subjecting ores to the action of the fire the volatile 
parts are driven off, and the water of crystallization dissi- 
pated. By this process marble is converted into lime by 
expelling the carbonic acid and water, and the same may 
be said of borax, gypsum, alum, and other saline sub- 
stances which are deprived of their water of crystallization 
by the process of calcination. There is a difference be- 
tween calcination and oxidation, fire being a necessary 
agent in the former case, while metals may be oxidated by 
acids, heat, or exposure to the atmosphere. See Weath- 
ERiKG Ores; Kiln". 

Calcium is a light yellow metal, somewhat harder 
than lead — very malleable; melts at a red heat and oxidizes 
in the air. It exists in abundance in limestone, fluor-spar, 
and gypsum. See Lime. 

Caliper. — Caliper compasses are very serviceable tools 
in a foundry doing general work of a superior order. No 
consideration of false economy should be tolerated that 
does not furnish ample means for obtaining correct meas- 
urements. These tools especially should be of a reliable 
character. 

They may now be obtained in an endless variety of 
styles and finish from the supply dealers throughout the 
country. See Gauge. 



I 



Camel's -hair Brush. 79 Cannon. 

Camel's-liair Brush. — An excellent tool for giving 
the final touclies to finished dry-sand and loam work, as 
also for use on green-sand surfaces with dry lead. For 
these purposes they should be double thickness and brass- 
bound. They are sold by the width at from thirty-five to 
forty cents per inch. See Brushes. 

Candle.— See Oils. 

Can-hooks. — This excellent device is improperly 
called " cant-hooks ^' in some localities. It consists of 
a double chain, rope, or bar-sling attached to a ring, with 
ends slightly hooked for gripping the underside of a flange 
or projecting lug. Very useful for taking a balanced lift 
where such practice is convenient. See Slin'Gs; Chaiist. 

Cannel-coal. — A dense, compact coal of a highly 
bituminous nature, used largely for making gas. See 
Coal; Fuel; Petroleum. 

Cannon. — A long cylindrical tube for throwing pro- 
jectiles by the explosion of gunpowder. The date of the in- 
vention and the name of the inventor are unknown. It is 
certain that King Edward emplo3^ed cannon at the battle of 
Cressy, A.D. 1346, but records are extant showing that they 
were known in France as early as the year 1338; and Isaac 
Vossius asserts that they were used in China seventeen 
liundred years ago. The earliest cannon were made by 
hooping iron bars, or of sheets of iron rolled up and 
fastened together. These cumbersome machines were 
used for throwing large stones in the manner of the an- 
cients. These were gradually supplanted by brass cannon 
of much smaller calibre, which threw iron and lead balls; 
they were first cast of a mixture of tin and copper, which 
was naturally called gun-metal, but subsequently cast-iron 



Caoutchouc. 80 Carbonic Acid. 

guns came into use on account of their being so mucli 
cheaper. See Oudkance. 

Caoiitchovic. — See Resik; India-rubber. 

Capacity of Ladles.— See Ladles. 

Carbolic Acid.— See Tar. 

Carbon. — A simple combustible, which constitutes a 
large proportion of all animal and vegetable substances. 
We are familiar with it in the diamond, and the various 
kinds of charcoal, mineral coal, lampblack, etc. Carbon 
unites with all the simple combustibles. With iron it 
forms steel and plumbago, and with copper it forms a car- 
buret. The diamond is the purest form of carbon. See 
Diamond; Graphite; Charcoal; Cast Iron; Steel. 

Carbonates. — Compounds of carbonic acid with sali- 
fiable bases, composed either of one prime of acid and one 
of base, or one of acid and two of base. The former are 
carbonates, the latter bicarbonates. 

Carbonic Acid. — This acid is composed of oxygen 
72, carbon 28 ; specific gr. 1.529, air being 1.000. All 
forms of carbon when burned in the air unite with oxygen 
to form carbonic acid. It constitutes 44 per cent of lime- 
stone. A cubic inch of marble yields four gallons of the 
gas. Under a pressure of 36 atmosphere^ at 32° carbonic 
acid shrinks into a colorless liquid lighter than water. It 
does not resume the gaseous state when the pressure is re- 
moved, but evaporates with great rapidity, one portion ab- 
sorbing heat from another, and thus freezing it into a white 
substance like snow. Unlike other acids, it does not unite 
with water to form a definite hydrate. It is anhydrous in 



Carbonic Oxide. 81 Carriage. 

all the three states — gaseous, liquid, and solid. It is incom- 
bustible, and a non-supporter of combustion. See Gases; 
Liquid; Solid. 

Carbonic Oxide.— See Oxide Carbonic. 

Carbonize. — To convert into carbon by combustion, 
or the action of fire, or any other means, as the carburiza- 
tion of malleable iron by the addition thereto of carbon, 
through solid or gaseous carbonaceous matters. See Cem- 
entation; Crucible Steel. 

Carburet. — The union of carbon with a base, or a 
combination of carbon with any of the simple substances. 
It is more commonly termed a carbide. 

Card-moulding. — See Plate -moulding. 

Carnelian. — A semi-transparent mineral only distin- 
guished by its colors (the various shades of red) from agate, 
jasper, etc. Finest specimens of this mineral come from 
India; it has a glimmering lustre and is sometimes found 
a dark blood-red, passing into a greenish-brown. It is in- 
fusible. Its composition is silex 94, alumina 3.5, lime 1.5, 
oxide of iron 0.75. Carnelian was much preferred by the 
ancients for engraving upon. See Precious Stones. 

Carriage. — An iron vehicle to run on tracks, which 
ought to be laid convenient to one or more of the foundry 
cranes, and from thence inside the oven or stove. In plan- 
ning carriages for this purpose strict attention should be 
given to local requirements, not to any particular one that 
may have been seen or heard of elsewhere. For example : 
Would it be best to make a perfectly flat table ? and, if so, 
how high, and how large in area? Or, should it be provid- 
ed with fixed or adjustable racks? If so, how high and in 
which direction, to be most convenient for passing the 



Carrying bar, 82 Car-wheel Founding. 

cores ? Agiiiu, would it be of service to attach taper-sock- 
ets for loam-work spindles, with the view of building on 
the carriage direct? Finally, is it possible to so combine 
these or other qualities as to make it the best and most 
convenient carriage possible for either special or general 
purposes? See Oven; Spindle. 

Carrying-bar. — A stout wooden or iron bar, about 
30 inches long, having a depression in the middle. By 
means of this contrivance, two men stand or walk side by 
side, supporting the single end of a shank-ladle between 
them. See Shank; Ladle. 

Carving^. — By this term we generally understand the 
art of cutting figures and designs in wood with suitable 
sharp instruments made for the purpose. Cutting de- 
signs in stone is termed sculpture, and similar operations 
on metals is called chasing. Patterns for decorative, archi- 
tectural, and other castings, which were at one time the 
productions of the wood-carver, are now accomplished in 
shorter time and at less cost by the modeller. See Mod- 
elling. 

Car-wheel Founding. — The manufacture of car- 
wheel is a special branch of foundry industry, which, in all 
of its varied phases, demands more than ordinary attention 
to make good wheels at a profit. The processes of their 
manufacture are substantially as follows : First, a good, 
substantial wood pattern, or better, an iron one, with iron 
core-boxes in which to dry the cores. Second, a set of 
flasks consisting of cope, with bars to fit one inch clear of 
the pattern ; drag, with separate perforated bottom-plate ; 
and an intermediate chill 4 inches thick, for chilling the 
tread, with lugs and pins to match both upper and lower 
parts, and trunnions for reversing. Third, moulding and 
casting. Fourth, lifting from the sand red hot, and lower- 



1 



Car- wheel Founding. 83 Car- wheel Founding. 

ing into the annealing-pit, where the wheel cools gradually 
in about three or four days, when it is taken out, cleaned, 
tested, and if found sound in every particular, is pronounced 
a chilled car-wheel. 

The " Barr " contracting car-wheel chill is described in 
The Machinery Moulders' Journal as follows : 

The ring, which constitutes the ordinary chill, is divided 
into 96 sections by radial divisions. The sections or blocks 
are held in position by an outside ring, which is capable of 
being expanded or contracted, thus causing the blocks 
composing the chill to be moved, radially, outward or in- 
ward. By this means the expansion which occurs in the 
ordinary chill is entirely prevented, and the inward radial 
motion of the chill-blocks is such as to extend the time of 
contact between the chill and the cojitractiiig-wheel within, 
until nearly the full effect of the cooling influence of the 
chill is obtained. The expansion and contraction of the 
outside hollow retaining-ring is effected by introducing 
steam or water. 

The operation of the chill is as follows: When the 
moulder is nearly ready to pour his metal, steam is turned 
on through the outer ring, causing it to expand, and carry- 
ing with it the chill-blocks, thus increasing the diameter of 
the chilling surface. When the chill becomes so warm that 
you can barely lay your hand upon it the steam is then 
turned off. The iron is now placed in position to pour, 
and the moment the iron enters the gate or pouring-head, 
cold water is passed through the ring which causes a con- 
traction of the outside hollow sustaining ring and a conse- 
quent decrease in diameter of the chilling surface. 

This chill has been in use in our foundry for the past 
year, and during that time our loss from chill-cracks and 
other causes has been ^ ol 1 per cent, while in the old- 
style chill the loss has been from 3 to 6 per cent. 

There is in fact an entire absence of chill-cracks, rough 



Case-hardening. 84 Case-hardening. 

tread, and sweats, and the presence of slag almost entirely 
prevented. There is a decided improvement in the depth 
of white iron and its uniformity around the tread; the 
average variations in the white iron being about -^^ inch, 
while in the old or solid chill I have known it to vary as much 
as f to ^ inch. The quality of gray iron, with its freedom 
from slag or imperfections, and the general strength of the 
wheel is enhanced by hotter and faster pouring, which is 
made possible by the use of this chill. With the old or 
solid chill the time consumed in pouring a chill is about 
twenty seconds, and with the contracting chill nine to 
tvvelve seconds. 

There is only one objection to the Bar contracting chill, 
and that is the small ridges formed by the spaces between 
the chill-blocks. These we are compelled to grind off with 
an emery-wheel. This labor can be lessened by filling 
these crevices with sharp sand. 

Case-hardening is the term applied to the process 
of converting the external surface of articles or masses of 
iron into steel, with the view of combining the hardness of 
the latter with the toughness and comparative cheapness of 
the former. This may be done by placing iron articles 
(finished, but not polished), along with animal carbon, as 
hoofs, leather, skins, etc., that have been partly burned to 
admit of being powdered, into an iron box, well luted, and 
subjecting them to a red heat for about half an hour, or 
even more, according to the depth of hard surface needed, 
after which plunge the contents into water. 

Cast iron may be hardened on the surface by first bring- 
ing to a red heat and rolling in a mixture of saltpetre, 
powdered prussiate of potash, and sal-ammoniac in equal 
proportions, after which immerse in a bath of water which 
contains in each gallon, sal-ammoniac 4 oz., prussiate of 
potash 2 oz. 



Casings. 85 Castings, To Galvanize. 

Small iron articles will be case-hardened by allowing 
tliem to remain 30 minutes in a fused liquid consisting of 
common salt 10, prussiate of potash 1, and subsequently 
plunging into cold water. An iron pot will serve to fuse 
in. 



Casings are perforated iron shells, provided with 
prickers for carrying the loam thickness, and with means 
for lifting and turning over the cope part. When the form 
of castings is favorable to non-interference with contraction, 
as in some sugar-pans, crystallizing-cones, and other kindred 
castings, both inside and outside moulds may be swept with 
the spindle, closed and cast, without any subsequent ram- 
ming in the pit which necessarily attends the ordiuary 
methods. Cylindrical casings are equally as advantageous 
when the quantity of castings required will warrant the 
outlay for making them. See Bells; Kettles; Spindle. 

Cast. — A term used among fine-art workers, meaning 
impressions from sculptures, medals, and other delicate 
works of art; also, the taking of casts from the face and 
other natural objects. See Plaster-cast. 

Cast is a common term in the foundry; as, when a piece 
has been poured, it is said to be cast ; when a moulder has 
finished pouring as many moulds as constitute a day^s 
product, he is considered to be cast off. 

Casting". — The finished or completed product in the 

foundry. 

The act of pouring metal into a mould is called casting 
the mould. 

Castings, To Bronze.— See Stains for Metals. 

Castings, To Galvanize.— See Zinc-coating. 



Castings, Weight of. 86 Cast Iron. 

Castings, Weight of.— See Weight of Castings. 

Cast Iron.— Cast iron is the product of the iron smelt- 
ing-furnace. Iron occurs in nature, almost universally, in 
a state of combination. The mineral masses which it forms 
with oxygen, carbon, sulphur, and the metals, and from 
which it is extracted, are called its ores. It is strongly 
magnetic, and rubs into a black powder. Magnetic iron ore 
(loadstone) is one of the richest ores of the iron, contain- 
ing 72 per cent of iron and 28 of oxygen. Specular or red 
iron ore is very hard, and sometimes presents a polished 
appearance, brown in color ; but its powder is always red — 
by which means it may be distinguished from the magnetic 
oxide. This ore contains 63 per cent of iron and 36 of 
oxygen. Red hematite is much used, being very plentiful, 
as also is brown hematite, which is found in almost all parts 
of the world; it contains about 86 per cent of peroxide of 
iron to about 14 of water. Clay ironstone occurs amongst 
the coal measures, and contains only about 37 per cent of 
iron. Bisulphide of iron, or pyrites, occurs in large quanti- 
ties under different forms. Pyrites is prized chiefly as a 
source of other substances ; it is never worked for its iron. 

The richer iron ores yield a good iron by simply heating 
the broken ore with charcoal in an open fire with blast. 
The ore is deoxidized, or, in other words, deprived of its 
oxygen by the carbon of the fuel, and the reduced iron is 
gathered into a pasty mass called a " bloom," while the 
earthy impurities contained in the ore combine with a por- 
tion of the oxide of iron to form a slag. Very much of the 
iron is, by this method, lost in the slag, and there is also a 
great waste of fuel; but the method is so simple that it may 
be practised by people possessing little knowledge of chem- 
istry, and for this reason it is no doubt the oldest method 
of extracting iron from its ores. 

The metal is not usually obtained pure in the extraction 



Cast Iron. 8 « Cast Iron. 

of iron from its common ores, as it contains more or less 
carbon, which imparts to it a fusible nature; for which rea- 
son iron in this state is designated " pig iron," or cast iron. 
Tlie processes connected with the reduction of the ores con- 
sist of, first, calcining or roasting (this is done to expel 
carbonic acid, water, sulphur, and other volatile ingredients 
of the ore); secondly, the reduction of the oxide of iron to 
the metallic state by ignition with carbon ; thirdly, the 
separation of the earthy impurities of tlie ore by fusion 
with other matters into a slag; and, fourthly, the carboniz- 
ing and melting of the reduced iron. The purest kind of 
iron ores do not require to be previously calcined, but with 
most of them it is essential. 

Some of the larger examples of blast-furnaces have a 
width at the boshes of 25 feet, and are over 100 feet in 
height. These are commonly called smelting-furnaces, be- 
cause the process of separating the iron from its ore, called 
reducing, is conducted in them. The top or mouth of the 
furnace serves for charging as well as for the escape of 
smoke, etc., and is therefore both door and chimney. The 
tuyeres at the bottom, like the ordinary cupola, serve to 
supply the air, which is forced in by means of immense 
blowing-engines. To economize fuel, the blast is sometimes 
heated to over 1000 degrees before it is delivered into the 
furnace. The furnace is sometimes charged with alternate 
layers of fuel (coal or coke and sometimes charcoal), ore, and 
limestone. When the heat has become sufficiently intense 
the carbon of the fuel deoxidizes the iron, and carbonic 
acid is also expelled from the lime, leaving it caustic. Sand 
and clay, in greater or less quantities, now remain combined 
with the iron; the lime, acting as a flux, unites with these 
and forms a slag. The iron as it melts falls to the bottom 
of the furnace, from whence it is allowed to flow at intervals 
through a tapping-hole, which when not in use is kept 
stopped with sand. The slag flows out over a dam, arranged 



Cast-iron Pipes. 88 Cast-iron Pipes. 

in such a manner as to retain the molten iron, but to per- 
mit the escape of the slag, which floats on the iron as fast 
as it accumulates in sufficient quantity. As fresh supplies 
of fuel, ore, and flux are charged at the top, the melted 
iron is tapped at the bottom; where channels from the tap- 
hole lead the metal into sows, and from thence into the pigs; 
the process goes on without stoppage, sometimes for years. 

The product of the smel ting-furnace is, as has been pre- 
viously stated, "cast iron,^^ containing from 2 to 6 per cent 
of carbon, which in the white irons is chemically combined 
with the iron; while in the gray it is principally graphitic, 
mechanically distributed through the iron. There are also 
other impurities contained in cast iron, including silicon, 
sulphur, and phosphorus, and sometimes manganese. Cast 
iron is easily distinguished from malleable by its granular 
texture and brittleness, which precludes all possibility of 
forging; but it is this very quality that gives it its value 
as a foundry iron, because it can be so readily remelted and 
cast into moulds. 

It is presumed that cast iron expands at the moment of 
assuming the solid from the liquid state ; this expansion 
being caused by the particles assuming a crystalline arrange- 
ment as the mass solidifies, but that a subsequent contrac- 
tion takes place gradually as it becomes cold. See Water- 
tuyere; Calcij^ation" ; Ores ; Sow ; Pig Iron". 

Cast-iron pipes are tubes of cast iron for con- 
veying water or other fluids. Elbows, bends, curve, 
branch, tee, flange, hawse, as well as odd shapes of water 
and other pipes, etc., all come under the general name of 
joljhing pipes, and are made in almost every foundry. 
But the straight -length socket pipe, of which so many 
thousand tons, of every dimension almost, are made each 
year for the water-works systems, are now all made by firms 
devoted exclusively to the manufacture of that class of 



Cast-iron Pipes. 



89 



Cast-iron Pipes. 



castings. The defects formerly existing by reason of the 
employment of unskilled labor at nearly all the pipe foun- 
dries have long since ceased to exist, as the work now 
emanating from these concerns incontestably proves. 

As made by the regular establishments, pipes are all 
cast vertically in cast-iron casings, having the core on a 
barrel. The flasks are rammed vertically on fixed founda- 
tions, with guide to receive the mandrel or pattern. The 
cores are accurately struck on barrels, in the customary 
wa}^, the barrels being provided with ample means for 
handling and self-adjustment; which leaves little to be 
done except to elevate the dried core, and lower it into the 
prepared seat at the bottom of the mould. Moulds and 
cores are thoroughly dried before casting. 

The following table gives the weight of one foot in 
length of pipes from 1 inch to 22 inches diameter : 




Cast-iron Pipes. 



90 



Cast-iron Pipes. 



Diam. 


Thick- 
ness. 


Weiglit. 


Diam. 


ThiL-k- 

ness. 


Weight. 
Lbs. 


Diam. 


Ins. 


Ins. 


U.S. 


Ins. 


Ins. 


Ins. 


n 


1 


88.28 




1 


122.62 




8 


1 


41.64 


12 


h 


61.26 


16 




1 


52.68 




1 


77.36 






3 


64.27 




f 


93.7 






7 


76.12 




1 


110.48 






1 


88.2 




1 


127.42 




81 


1 


44.11 


Kl 


1 


63.7 


16^ 






56.16 




1 


80.4 






1 


68 




I 


97.4 






1 


80.5 




1 


114.72 






1 


93.28 




1 


132 35 




9 


f 


46.5 


13 


.1 


66.14 


17 






59.92 




1 


83 46 






1 


71.7 




JL 


101.08 






1 


84.7 




r 


118.97 






1 


97.98 




1 


137. 2S 




H 


i 


48.98 


m 


i 


68.64 


171 




f 


62.02 




6 


86 55 






f 


75.32 




f 


104.76 






1 


88.98 




1 


123.3 






1 


102.09 




1 


142.16 




10 


i 


51.46 


14 


i 


71.07 


18 ,, 




5 


6.-). 08 




5 


89.61 






1 


78 99 




3 


108.46 






n 


93.24 




8 


127.6 






1 


108.84 




1 


147.03 


19 


101 


i 


53.88 


14| 


i 


73.72 






5 


68.14 




1 


92.66 , 






1 


82 68 




1 


112.1 I 






1 


97.44 




7 
■5 


131.8 


20 




1 


112.68 




1 


151.92 




11 


i 


56.34 


15 


i 


75.96 






5 


71.19 




5 


95.72 






1 


86.4 




1 


115.78 


21 




1 


101.83 




1 


136.15 ' 






1 


117.6 




l' 


156.82 




Hi 


f 


58.82 


151 


1 


78.4 








74.28 




1 


98.78 


22 




1 


90.06 






119.49 






^ 


106.14 




^ 


140.4 





Thick- 
ness. 


Weight. 


Ins. 


Lbs. 


1 


161.82 


1 


80.87 


1 


101.82 


1 


123.14 


7 
"g" 


144.76 


1 


166.6 


4 


83.3 




104.82 


1 


126.79 


1 


149.02 


1 


171.6 


* 


85.73 


1 


107.96 


f 


130.48 


7_ 


153.3 


l' 


176.58 


:. 


88.23 


f- 


111.06 



To find the weight of a pipe, let the following rule be 
observed: To the inner diameter add the thickness of 
metal; multiply by 3.1416 for the circumference, and the 



Cast Iron, To Braze. 91 Cement. 

product by the thickness. This gives the number of 
inches contained in the end section of the casting, which, 
when multiplied by the length, gives the total cubic inches, 
which, if multiplied by the weight of a cubic inch of the 
metal used, will give the total weight. See Columns. 

Cast Iron, To Braze. — Clean the parts to be 
joined and tin them well. They may be now placed 
together in the sand, or elsewhere, and melted brass poured 
over them. See Soldering. 

Cast Iron, To Chill.— Use soft-water, 10 gallons; 
salt, 1 peck ; oil of vitriol, i pint. Heat to a cherry red 
and dip, continuing to dip until hard enough. See Case- 
hardening. 

Cast Iron, To Soften.— Water 4, aqua-fortis (nitric 
acid) 1; steep for 24 hours. 

Cast Iron Mixtures.- See Mixing Cast Iron. 

Cast Steel.— See Crucible Steel. 

Catalan Forge. — A simple kind of open-hearth fur- 
nace, once common in Catalonia, Spain, for producing 
malleable iron; some few are found there still, as well as in 
some other parts of Europe and America. In their crudest 
form they consist of a simple hole in the ground, in which 
are contained the ignited charcoal and the substances to 
be heated ; the fire being urged by a blast of air blown in 
through one or more nozzles or tuyeres, from either a rude 
bellows or a tromj). See Tromp. 

Cement. — These substances are generally employed in 
a semi-fluid or pasty state to unite bodies in close adhe- 



Cement. 92 Cement. 

sion, the latter condition being the most favorable for 
bringing the opposing surfaces into intimate contact. 

Marme Glue. — Glue 12, water enough to dissolve; add 
yellow resin 3 ; melt, and add turpentine 4, and mix thor- 
oughly together. 

Cement for Lamps. — Rosin 3, caustic soda 1, water 5, 
boil; then add half its weight of plaster of Paris. Sets in 
f of an hour; not permeable to petroleum. 

Cement to Resist a Red Fne, Water, and Oils. — Equal 
parts of sifted peroxide of manganese and zinc white; 
soluble glass, sufficient to form a thin paste. See Solu- 
ble Glass. 

Another : Pulverized litharge 5 lbs., fine Paris white 3 
lbs., yellow ochre 4 oz., hemp cut in shreds ^ oz. ; this is 
ready for use when it has been mixed to the consistency of 
putty with boiled linseed-oil. 

Liquid Glue. — Glue, water, and vinegar, each 2 parts. 
Dissolve in water-bath, and add alcohol 1 part. 

Cement for Steam-boilers, Steam-pipes, etc. — Red or 
white lead, in oil, 4 parts; iron borings, 2 or 3 parts (soft), 
or iron borings and salt water, and a small quantity of sal- 
ammoniac with fresh water (hard cement). 

For Holes in Castings. — Sulphur in powder, 1 part; sal- 
ammoniac, 2 parts ; powdered iron turnings, 80 parts. 
Make into a thick paste. The ingredients comprising this 
cement should be kept separate and not mixed until re- 
quired for use. 

Cement for Stoppi7ig Holes ill Cast Iroyi. — Iron filings, 15 
parts; sal-ammoniac, 2 parts; sulphur, 1 part; ground or 
powdered stone, 2 parts; add water until it is about the 
consistency of common paste; it is then ready for use. 

For Making Canvas Water-proof and Pliable. — Yellow 
soap, 1 pound, boiled in 6 pints of water; add, while hot, 
112 pounds paint. 

Cement for Rust-joints {Quick-setting). — 1 pound sal- 



Cementation. 93 Chain. 

ammoniac in powder, 2 pounds flour of sulphur, 80 pounds 
iron borings (made to a paste with water). 

Stone and Iron. — When stone and iron are to be 
cemented together, use a compound of equal parts of pitch 
and sulphur. 

For Cisterns and Water-casks, — Melted glue, 8 parts; 
linseed oil, 4 parts; boiled into a varnish with litharge. 
This cement hardens in about 48 hours and makes tight 
joints. 

Rice Glue, or Japanese Cement. — Rice flour; water, suflS- 
cient quantity. Mix together; then boil, stirring it all the 
time. 

Cementation is a chemical process consisting of 
surrounding a body in the solid state with the powder of 
some other body or bodies, and exposing the whole for a 
time to a degree of heat insufficient to melt the contents. 
By this means iron is converted into steel when packed in 
powdered charcoal, and green bottle-glass into porcelain by 
sand, etc. See Blister-steel. 

Centre. See Spindle; Loam-moulding. 

Chain. — A chain consists of a series of iron links 
welded one within the other. The very critical and par- 
ticular uses made of chains in a foundry and elsewhere 
should suggest the propriety of devoting more attention 
to their careful preservation. The fewer theii" number 
the greater probability of a right selection and legitimate 
use. The tensile strength of good chain iron is about 
41,000 lbs., but in order to maintain that high state of 
efficiency chains must not be subjected to the barbarous sys- 
tem of hammering one sees sometimes in order to release 
a few kinks. Another vile method is to take heavy lifts 
when one or more of the chains have been purposely 



Chain-slings. 94 Change-hook. 

shortened by twisting. A few fractured chains, and may- 
hap a life lost, would be of infinitely greater cost than a 
handy set of swivel-chains, by which means an even lift can 
be obtained as precisely as may be desired. Instead of be- 
ing thrown down on the damp floor, chains should always 
be hung up and carefully protected from rust. An occa- 
sional heating to a dull red in a cliarcoal fire, followed by 
a long protracted cooling while shielded from the atmos- 
phere, is of great service, and tends to restore the quality 
of ductility. Hard knocks, overstraining, lifting with 
twists, moisture, sudden changes of temperature are all 
favorable to crystallization, and hence fatal to the well- 
being of chains (see Swivel-chain). For strength of 
chains and ropes, see Ropes. 

Chain-slings.— See Slii^gs. 

Chalk is nearly a pure carbonate of lime; it effervesces 
with acids and burns to quicklime. In England it forms 
in beds sometimes more than 100 feet high. The solid 
stone is used for building with. It is an excellent lime 
for cement and a good polishing substance. See Lime- 
stoke. 

Chalk Composition. — For obtaining impressions of 
simple objects, as medals, etc., or for forcing into well-oiled 
moulds, as busts, statuettes, etc., this composition is very 
good. It is composed of powdered chalk and thin glue 
worked to the consistency of putty, which, when allowed to 
dry, becomes almost as hard as marble. All that is needed 
is to press the composition hard down into all the cavities 
of the mould, and the impression is perfect. See Plastee- 

CAST. 

Chanffe-hook. See Double Hook. 



Cliaplet. 95 Charcoal-facing. 

Cliaplet. — A chaplet proper consists of a stem of in- 
definite length, terminating at one end with an increased 
flat surface, which renders it less likely to be thrust into the 
core by pressure or weight. If this plate end is forged out 
of the whole piece the chaplet is a good one, and may be 
relied upon ; but a riveted end is an abomination for more 
reasons than one. In the first place they are apt to slip 
through unless the shoulder is enlarged, and that is not 
sufficient to prevent the head from flying off when struck; 
consequently, whether they are home-made or purchased from 
the dealers, the solid ones are to be preferred. By means of 
a match-plate very many excellent chaplets for ordinary pur- 
poses may be made of cast iron; for many jobs they are 
infinitely superior to wrought iron, and very much cheaper. 

Chaplet is the general term for almost every device for 
holding down or supporting cores and sections of moulds ; 
even springers are recognized as a species of chaplet, and 
so called in many parts (see Spring-chaplet), and solid 
studs of almost every description go by this name. 

Two important features in this connection are rust and 
lack of material. Both of these conditions are fatal to a 
mould — the former because of the large amount of gas 
evolved when the rust decomposes; the latter because of 
their too frequent use in parts where the current of metal 
dissolves the stud, leaving the part without support. 

Both studs and chaplets are incorrectly called micliovs 
in some foundries. See Anchor. 

Charcoal.— Charcoal is what remains of wood after it 
has been exposed to a strong heat while protected from 
the access of the atmospheric air. Charred bituminous coal 
produces what is termed coke. See Coke. 

Charcoal-facing.— The dust of pulverized charcoal. 
See Facing. 



Charge. 96 Charging-doors. 

Charge. — The amount of metal, fuel, flux, etc., intro- 
duced into the furnace at one time, either as one of a 
number of charges to constitute a whole heat, as in a 
cupola, or, as the whole quantity charged at once, as in a 
reverberatory furnace. 

Too much intelligence cannot be brought to bear on the 
operation of charging the cupola, as not only may there be 
a substantial saving effected in the quantity of fuel used, 
but time in melting may be shortened, as well as hotter 
iron produced when the true proportions of fuel to iron 
has been once accurately determined. Commence with 9 
pounds of iron to 1 of fuel above the bed-charge, and con- 
tinue this for one day, noting well the length of time taken 
to melt the heat, as well as the temperature of the iron 
melted ; then gradually decrease or increase the amount of 
fuel, as occasion demands, until the smallest percentage pos- 
sible is reached, after which the whole labor of charging is re- 
duced to a positive science, demanding only accurate weigh- 
ing of the materials used every day to insure satisfactory 
results at every heat, providing the requisite blast-pressure 
is maintained on every occasion. See Cupola; Ratio of 
Fuel to Iron; Charging the Common Cupola. 

Cliarging-doors are the doors used for closing the 
mouth of the cupola after the charge has been thrown 
therein. It is a great mistake to provide a too limited hole 
through which to charge the iron and fuel; when this 
occurs, the operations are sure to be faulty, as the cupola- 
man cannot place the alternate layers of fuel and iron with 
the regularity necessary for even melting. Very much of 
the irregularity in melting, so prevalent almost everywhere, 
could be prevented if a capacious aperture was provided 
with close-fitting doors, which latter should be kept closed 
after the charge is in. See Cupola; Charging the Com- 
mon CUPOLA^ 



Charging-hole. 97 Charging Cupola. 

Charging - hole. — The mouth of a cupola. See 

CHAKGIi^G-DOOKS. 

Chargiiig-platform (scaffold). — The stage upon 
which fuel and iron is stored for convenience in charging. 
Usually the platform is built about 3 feet below the charging- 
hole and immediately in front of the latter. Position and 
capacity are two important features. The former should 
be chosen with reference to possible future developments, — 
such as additional cupolas, improved facilities for raising 
material, etc., — while the latter in all cases should be of 
strength sufficient to bear tuith perfect safety all the mate- 
rials for one day's heat, and ample in area to do this with- 
out in any sense interfering with the charging operations. 
See Cupola; Charging the CoMMOiq" Cupola. 

Charging the Common Cupola. — The follow- 
ing table of common straight cupolas, from 24 to 84 inches 
diameter inside of lining, all of which have a bed depth of 
10 inches, show what amount of fuel is required for the 
bed, first charge of iron, and succeeding charges of fuel 
and iron. Also blast-pressure and tuyere area required to 
melt a given quantity of iron per hour, as well as the total 
melting capacity of each cupola designated. All the fig- 
ures are based upon what may be considered as safe prac- 
tice under ordinary conditions. A proportionate increase 
or decrease of bed fuel is necessary when the depth of 
sand-bed differs either way from 10 inches, as given ; and 
any increase of burden in order to obtain improved ratios of 
melting must be introduced gradually. The results as per 
table are absolutely certain when the power is adequate and 
blast-pipes, etc., sufficiently capacious and free from leaks. 

The total melting capacities given represents what may 
be expected irrespective of any system of slagging, or other 
means ordinarily adopted for continuous melting: 



Cheek. 



98 



Chill. 





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CO 


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S'S 




4-1 


03 


c3 






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o 


n 


cS O 


"S 


o 


.a 


.13 


s ^ 


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o 




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l.i 

c a 

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O 

'5 


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1= 


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H 


In. 


In. 


Lbs. 


Lbs. 


Lbs. 


Lbs. 




Oz. 


Lbs. 


Lbs. 


24 


10 


300 


900 


50 


500 


1.5 


6 


1,500 


6,000 


30 


10 


570 


1,700 


176 


1,584 


2.6 


7 


3,000 


12,000 


36 


10 


840 


2,520 


260 


2,340 


3.3 


8 


4,820 


18,280 


42 


10 


1,110 


3,330 


428 


3,852 


5.8 


10 


7,550 


30,200 


48 


10 


1,380 


4,140 


554 


4,986 


6.8 


12 


10.760 


43,040 


54 


10 


1,650 


4950 


680 


6,120 


10.7 


14 


13.850 


55,400 


60 


10 


1,920 


5,760 


806 


7.254 


13.7 


14 


16,940 


67,760 


66 


10 


2,190 


6,570 


932 


8,388 


15 4 


14 


21,200 


84,800 


72 


10 


2,460 


7,380 


1,058 


9,522 


19. 


16 


26,070 


104,280 


78 


10 


2,730 


8,190 


1,184 


10 650 


26. 


16 


31,80(; 


127,200 


84 


10 


3,000 


9,000 


1,310 


11,790 


31. 


16 


37,530 


150,120 



See Katio of Fuel to iROi^; Blast-pipes ; Slag. 

Cheek. — A portion of mould carried separate in the 
side of a flask, or on a drawback plate. The cheek parts 
of a flask are those between the cope and nowel, as in a 
three-part flask ; it is cope, cheeh, and noivel. See Draw- 
back ; Flasks. 

Chemical Analysis in the Foundry. — See 

Analysis. 



Chill. — The heavy cast-iron casing or former which is 
placed to give shape to the casting, and, by its rapid absorp- 
tion of heat, produces a hard chilled surface there. This 
mode of chilling or hardening is the one pursued for treads 
of wheels, rolls of various kinds, and many other purposes. 
See Oar- WHEEL ; Eolls j Steel-castikgs ; Case-hard- 
ening. 



China-clay. 99 Chipping-piece. 

China-clay is prepared by Avashing a white decom- 
posed granite found in the southwestern part of England 
and other places. It is prepared by first breaking into 
pieces and allowing streams of water to carry it to pits, 
where, having settled to the consistence of cream, it is run 
into moulds to be subsequently kiln-dried. It is then cut 
into convenient-sized blocks and shipped for the manu- 
facture of porcelain, earthenware, paper, etc., as well as 
for numerous other purposes in the iron industries, such as 
the manufacture of crucibles, etc. This is the kaolin of 
the foundry, being the name given by the Chinese to a 
similar clay found in China and used by them in making 
porcelain. See Feldspar ; Kaolin ; Daubikg. 

Chinese White-copper.— See White Alloys. 

Chinese Pakfong.— See Packfong; White Al- 
loys; German-silver. 

Chinsing.— See Dressing. 

Cliipper. — Castings, when lifted out of the sand, are 
freed from burnt, adhering sand by the cleaner; after 
which, by means of hammers, chisels, and files, all super- 
fluous metal, as heads, gates, fins, etc., are removed by the 
chipper, 

Chipping-piece.— A facing of extra metal, allowed 
on parts of a casting for fitting purposes. When at the 
top they may connect with the pattern ; but when chip- 
ping-pieces are required at the bottom or anywhere inter- 
mediate, they must be pinned on the pattern temporarily, 
and the pins removed while ramming proceeds. The pieces 
can then be withdrawn or picked out after the pattern has 
been drawn from the sand. 



Chloride. 100 Chucks. 

Chloride. — Compounds of great importance are 
formed by a combination of chlorine with metals and 
other substances. Most of the chlorides are soluble in 
water, and metals enter into as many combinations with 
chlorine as they do with oxygen. Chlorides melt at ordi- 
nary temperatures, and are more easily dissolved and fused 
than are their corresponding acids. Chlorides usually 
decompose when heated in a current of hydrogen, the re- 
sult being hydrochloric acid and the pure metal. Simple 
ignition will decompose chlorides of noble metals, leaving 
the uncombined metal. If chlorides are heated with black 
oxide of manganese and sulphuric acid, the chlorine is 
eliminated. 

Chlorine abounds in the mineral world, chiefly in the 
metal sodium, in salt, etc., and is prepared by heating 
black oxide of manganese with hydrochloric acid — which 
forms a yellowish transparent gas 2J times heavier than 
air. Under a pressure of four atmospheres it is condensed 
into a liquid slightly heavier than water and which remains 
unfrozen at 220°. This gas unites with oxygen to form 
five compounds: with hydrogen it forms hydrochloric acid; 
with nitrogen, an explosive of great power, called per. 
chloride of nitrogen; and it forms several chlorides with 
carbon. 

Chocks.— See Chucks. 

Chroiniuiii Steel. — The effect of this substance is 
analogous in some features to that of manganese; in others 
to that of carbon upon steel, imparting a fine close texture 
and increasing hardness and brittleness. 

Chucks are pieces of wood, slightly wedged, to be 
driven fast between the bars of a flask to impart stiffness 
to the bars; or, for driving down below the straight bars 
to form a continuation of the latter, as it were, into parts 



Churning. 101 Clamp. 

which extend below the joint, and which must be lifted out 
along witli the flask. By this means a phiin flask may be 
made to correspond to any and every form of joint con- 
ceivable, and the task of carrying a deep lift is much 
simplified. This useful device is often called chocking. 

Churning.— See Feedikg. 

Cinder. — See Slag; Mill-cin^der. 

Cinder-bed. — Sometimes called a coke-bed; a means 
by which all vents are provided with a sure outlet, from 
the mould, through the spaces formed by the cinders, and 
out at the vent-pipes. See Ventij^g. 

Cinder-pig is pig-iron obtained by treating in the 
blast-furnace rich slags and cinders along with ores or pig. 
See Mill-cinder. 

Cire-Perdue Process. — A method of producing 
statuary, etc., by modelling a wax figure on a prepared 
core, inclosing the wax with suitable composition, drying 
the mould and melting out the wax, and finally filling the 
space with metal. See Statuary-founding. 

Cisterns. — A tank, artificially constructed for holding 
liquids. Foundry cisterns should be spacious and of suf- 
ficient number to accommodate every need. Their effi- 
ciency is enhanced when provided with a ball-cock which 
will automatically maintain a certain height of water at 
all times, with no possibility of flooding the foundry floor. 

Clamp. — A device for drawing together and securely 
holding two or more objects, such as two parts of a flask, 
core-box, etc. Besides the ordinary ones of cast and 
wrought iron which may be seen at all foundries, there are 



Clay. 102 Coagulate. 

a considerable number of patented devices, some of which 
have very ingenious modes of adjustment. The Diamond 
Adjustable, with automatic lock, Hawley's gliding Clamp 
with eicentric head, are among the many truly good in- 
ventions which are supplied by the foundry agents. Called 
a "cramp" sometimes. 

Clay is a term of uncertain application to all kinds of 
earth or soil which, when moistened, become plastic and 
tenacious. Common clays are not easily distinguishable 
as mineral species; but it is apparent that nearly all have 
their origin in the decomposition of other minerals, chiefly 
consisting of alumina in combination with silica and water. 
See Fire-clay. 

Cleaner. — A moulder's tool, and frequently styled a 
" lifter." It is an important implement, made in different 
lengths and widths, principally from steel. It consists of 
a long flat blade, to slick or smooth the sides of confined 
webs; one end, being forged to a toe at right-angles with 
the blade, serves to lift out loose sand from such webs, and 
also to smooth the bottom. See Slicker. 

The workman who removes sand and cores from castings 
is usually styled a cleaner. See Chipper; Sand-blast. 

Cleaning-barrel. — See Tumblikg-barrel. 

Clearance. — See Allowance. 

Closing. — This term in the foundry means the opera- 
tion of placing all the parts composing the entire mould in 
their respective places. A green-sand mould is frequently 
spoken of as " closed " immediately the cope or top part has 
been placed thereon. 

Coag'nlate. — To change from a fluid to an inspissated 
state; to concrete, to clot, to thicken. 



Coal. 103 Coal-dust. 

Coal. — The bitumiuoiis coal is a substance of vegetable 
origin, apparently formed from plants by a slow decaying 
process, going on witliont access of air, and influenced by 
moisture, heat, and pressure. As is the case in all vegetable 
matter generally, it is composed of carbon and hydrogen, 
with small proportions of oxygen and nitrogen, together 
with more or less earthy and saline substances, spoken of 
commonly as inorganic matter. On being heated in the air 
it is almost consumed, leaving the inorganic components as 
ashes; but when heated out of contact with the air, viz., 
subjected to destructive distillation, the volatile hydrogen 
is driven off, with some carbon, either as a gas or as a tarry 
liquid, and the residue is coke, containing carbon only, to 
some extent contaminated with the impurities originally 
present in the coal. 

Anthracite coal, whilst having been formed similarly to 
the bituminous, has evidently been subjected to some sort 
of natural distillation, by which it has been deprived of 
nearly all the hydrogen, nitrogen, and oxygen of the original 
wood. To some extent it is coke, formed as it were by natu- 
ral agencies. 

The specific gravity of anthracite coal is 1.536, and of 
bituminous 1.280. 

One cubic foot of anthracite coal weighs 96 pounds; of 
bituminous, 80 pounds. 

The space required to stow away one ton of anthracite 
coal is 40 cubic feet ; for bituminous, 44. See Combustion; 
Fuel. 

Coal-dust. — Commonly called sea-coal facing is ground 
from bituminous coal that has been selected for its freedom 
from slate, sulphur, or any other substance of a deleterious 
nature. When this dust is mixed with the sand, it breaks 
up and separates the fusible elements contained therein, 
and that which is not separated is more or less impregnated 



Coal-oil. • 104 Cohesion. 

with the gas produced. Fusing of the sand is by this means 
partially prevented by reason of the hydrogen and carbon 
which the sea-coal contains. Experience teaches just how 
much coal-dust is required for this purpose ; but it is seldom 
that more than one of coal to six of sand can be used, as 
any higher percentage will produce a too open mixture 
which results in streaked blotches on the castings, caused 
by the molten iron searching out the surplus coal and 
consuming it. See Facing-sai^d; Facing. 

Coal-oil.— See Petroleum; Tar. 

Coal-tar.— See Tar. 

Coating Metals. — Iron castings may be coated with 
gold or silver by first cleaning and then boiling, in a porce- 
lain vessel, containing water 12, muriatic acid (sp. gr. 1.2) 
li, iron vitriol 2, zinc 1, mercury 12. A layer of mercury 
is soon deposited on the iron, upon which the gold amalgam 
may be distributed. For silvering, the iron must be first 
coated with copper, and the silver applied in the leaf or by 
means of amalgam. See Zinc Coating ; Tinning ; Sil- 
vering; Gilding. 

Cobalt. — This substance bears in many respects a close 
resemblance to nickel, and is often found associated in nat- 
ure with that metal. It is white, brittle, and tenacious, 
having a high melting-point ; specific gravity, 8.5. Its prin- 
cipal ores are white cobalt, consisting of cobalt 44, arsenic 
55, sulphur 0.50. All the ores of cobalt contain more or 
less nickel. See Arsenic ; Nickel. 

Cohesion is that power by which the particles of 
bodies are held together. The absolute cohesion of solids 
is measured by the force necessary to tear them asunder. 
See Tenacity; Strength of Materials. 



Coke. 105 Coke-fork. 

Coke is the residue resulting from the destructive 
distillation of soft or bituminous coal, and may be classed 
as an impure sub-variety of carbon, which, from a chemical 
point of view, may be classed either with graphite or char- 
coal, or perhaps between the two. It is made in ovens or 
in heaps, where the volatile matters are expelled, leaving 
the coke we use for melting purpose. 

About 2240 pounds of bituminous coal is required to pro- 
duce from 1000 to 1400 pounds of good dry coke. 

The manufacture of illuminating gas necessitated the use 
of retorts, into which bituminous coal principally is charged 
and heated to redness by an external fire. At a moderate 
heat tar and oil are produced, but at a high temperature 
gases are formed in large quantities. The principal prod- 
ucts of this destructive distillation are coal-tar, steam, 
ammonia, sulphide of hydrogen, carbonic acid, carburetted 
hydrogen, defiant gas, and a solid, friable, carbonaceous 
mass, which is known as gas-coke. 

Coke specially manufactured for smelting purposes, of a 
good quality, is far superior to any kind of coal for melting 
in the cupola, as it melts faster and produces hotter iron. 
The best qualities are distinguished by their hardness, 
emitting a ringing sound when struck; a freedom from 
what is called smut, this being only partially burned at 
such parts — exposing a dark gray, fine cellular mass when 
fractured, with a silvery gloss overspreading the whole outer 
surface. 

The specific gravity of coke is 1.000 ; one cubic foot weighs 
G2| pounds, and the space required to stow one ton is 72 
cubic feet. See Coal. 



Coke-fork. — A very effective and useful substitute 
for the shovel in handling coke generally, and for charging 
the cupola in particular. Being made with from 10 to 14 



Cold-blast. 106 Column. 

long steel prons^s, they take nothing but clean coke, leaving 
the dirt behind, and thus saving the use of a riddle. 

Cold-blast. See Hot aj^d Cold Blast. 

Cold-short. — Iron or steel is termed ''cold-short" 
when it fractures at the edges if rolled or hammered at a 
temperature below a dull red heat. 

Cold-shots, also called "cold-shuts," are seams which, 
on flat castings, are sometimes formed by local accumu- 
lations of dirt and dust. Another source of cold-shots 
is when the metal enters in straggling and divergent 
streams, leaving portions of metal to partially congeal 
at places before the whole surface is covered. At the final 
meeting the junction is -►an imperfect one, because of the 
difference in temperature of the two portions of metal. 
Castings, poured vertically, that have heavy adjoining parts, 
will sometimes show very deep scars of this nature, because 
of the dead stoppage which occurs whilst such parts are 
being filled. This happens sometimes in cylinders with 
heavy connections ; the partial stoppage gives time for the 
surface scum to congeal, and metal simply flows back and 
covers it. When all the gating is from the top, this casu- 
alty is not likely to occur. See FAiiq"T-RUiT. 

Cold-tinning.— See Tin^ting. 

Column. — A pillar or post, usually made either round 
or rectangular in form, and employed as supports for roofs, 
entablatures, or other superstructures. The members of a 
column are cajoital, shaft, and base, with an ' abacus for 
the capital, and sometimes a'plinth for the base. 

Columns are of wood, stotie, cast iron, malleable iron, and 
steel. Made of the latter they are now constructed in seg- 



CoUiau Cupola. 



107 



Colliau Cupola. 



ments, riveted together, and shipped as promptly sa cast 
iron ones are made in the foundry. The change from cast- 
iron to steel has seriously affected the architectural foundry 
interests and many firms are at present suffering severely 
on account of the innovation. 

The following table shows the weight of one foot in 
length of square columns one inch thick, and the number 
of inches contained in end section of each column, by 
which means the weight of one lineal foot of any other 
casting answering to the total inches given is obtained at 
once. 



Dim. of col. 
in inches. 


6X6 


7X7 


8X8 


9X9,10X10 


11X11 


12X12 


13X13 


14X14 


15X15 


Weight of 1 
foot in lbs. 


63 


75 


87 


100 


113 


125 


138 


150 


163 


174 


No. of inches 
con. in sec. 


20 


24 


28 


32 


36 


40 


44 


48 


52 


56 



Dim. of col. 
in inches. 


16X16 


17X17 


18X18 


19X19 


20X20 


21X21 


22X22 


23X23 


24X24 


Weight of 1 
foot in lbs. 


187 


200 


213 


225 


238 


250 


263 


275 


288 


No. of inches 
con. in sec. 


60 


64 


68 


72 


76 


80 


84 


88 


92 



TABLE SHOWING THE WEIGHT IN POUNDS OF ONE 
LINEAL FOOT OF ROUND COLUMNS ONE INCH 
THICK. 



Outside diam. of 
column in in. 


4 


6 


8 


10 


12 


14 


16 


18 


20 


22 


24 


Weight of on ft. 
in length in lbs. 


30 


49 


69 


89 


108 


128 


148 


167 


187 


206 


226 



Colliau Cupola.— The lower portion of the "Col- 
liau" Cupola is composed of two sheet-iron shells, the 
inner shells being made very heavy and of the same size as 
the stack proper; the outer shell encircles the inner one and 



Combustion. 108 Combustion. 

is made air tight, forming the wind-chest, which varies in 
size according to the size of furnace. In the outer shell 
are arranged two doors or shutters held in position by tap- 
bolts, also made air tight, which may be removed and again 
replaced after cleaning, should any dirt or slag accumulate 
in the wind-chest. 

Opposite each tuyere also is a sliding air-tight gate with 
peep-hole, and in the bevel top is furnished a brass nipple 
to connect hose from blast-meter into the wind-chest 
or chamber. The blast is introduced through two flanged 
openings, one on either side as shown, and reaches the melt- 
ing point through two sets of six tuyeres each, arranged to 
concentrate the blast. 

The tuyeres are so constructed that the melted iron in 
its downward course cannot pass through them into the 
air-chamber. 

The furnace, as a whole, is simple in its construction. 
There is no complicated machinery or parts to get out of 
order, and consequently does not require any more atten- 
tion or repairs than a common cupola. 

Combustion means the process of burning, and 
usually consists in the union of the oxygen of the atmos- 
phere with the constituents of the combustible substances. 
The combustion of coal is caused by this oxygen passing 
into a state of chemical union with the carbon and hydro- 
gen contained in the coal ; carbonic acid and water-vapor 
being formed thereby. In all ordinary cases of combustion 
the amount of heat set free depends upon the amount of 
oxygen brought into action, rather than on that of the 
body burned. Hence, the combustible which united with 
the most oxygen while burning gives off the most heat. 
Thus, hydrogen in burning, takes up weight for weight, 
three times as much oxygen as carbon does, and gives off 
three times as much heat as a consequence. The complete 



Common Pewter. 109 Compound. 

burniug of a combustible body requires the consumption 
of the same quantity of oxygen whether the process be 
rapid or slow, the amount of heat being the same in both 
cases. From this it is seen that the intensity of the heat 
is governed by the rapidity of the combustion. 

Heat would be liberated from the burning of a pound of 
coal in ten minutes — six times as fast as if its combus- 
tion occupied an hour. This explains why the blacksmith 
blows his tires, and also why blowing-engines are employed 
at the cupola, blast-furnace, etc.; the time of combustion 
is shortened by their use, with a corresponding increase in 
the degree of heat obtained ; besides, this extreme blast 
serves to expel from the fire all products of combustion 
which would retard it if allowed to gather therein. How- 
ever, it may be borne in mind that too much air is detri- 
mental to the burning process, as it serves to convey away 
the heat, thus cooling the fuel and hindering the rate of 
combustion. 

It is thought by many, that the more air is forced into 
the cupola, the more rapid will be the melting. From the 
above it will be seen that this is true only to a certain ex- 
tent. Time is required to elevate the temperature of the 
air supplied to the point that it will enter into combustion; 
if more than this is supplied it absorbs heat rapidly, re- 
duces the temperature, and, as we have seen, retards com- 
bustion. 

The importance of supplying the exact quantity of air, 
neither too much or too little, cannot be overestimated. 
See Chakging the Common Cupola ; Cupola ; Blast- 
gauge ; Blowers. 

ConnQon Pewter. — See Pewter. 

ComiJOund. — To mingle or unite two or more ingre- 
dients in one mass, or a substance composed of two or 
more elements joined by chemical affinity. 



Compressed Castings. HO Congelation. 

Compressed Casting's.— This process is for mak- 
ing fiue and artistic castings in brass, bronze, German-silver, 
aluminum, etc., and consists of preparing hard moulds con- 
taining the impress of the articles to be cast, the outside 
edges of which are square, so that they may be packed one 
on the other, and, when so packed, the gate of each leads 
to a central sprue. These are closely packed in an air-tight 
box. An opening in the cover-plate of the box directly 
connected with the sprue leads into a cylindrical reservoir 
containing the molten metal. This cylinder is lined 
with asbestos felt, the hole into the sprue being also 
covered with it, preventing the exit of the metal from the 
reservoir until the proper time. A piston, covered also 
with asbestos, fits closely into the cylinder, and pressure 
may be applied to it by hand through the action of a lever, 
rack and pinion, a screw or by other means. The reservoir 
being filled with the proper quantity of molten metal and 
the piston entered into the cylinder, connection may be 
opened between the mould and the vacuum -tank, causing 
the air in the mould to be drawn out, and at the same time 
pressure of any required degree may be applied to the 
piston. This pressure bursts that portion of the asbestos 
lining that lies immediately over the hole in the cover- 
plate, and the metal is instantaneously shot into every por- 
tion of the matrix in the mould. 

Compressed Steel.— See Pressikg Fluid Steel. 

Concave and Convex Moulds.— See Medals. 

Cong^elation. — The transition of a liquid to a solid 
state in consequence of the abstraction of heat, or through 
the effect of pressure. Metals, oil, water, etc., congeal 
when they change from a fluid to the solid state. In the 
foundry, it is common to term these phenomena as " set- 
ting," '^freezing." 



Contraction, 111 Conveyers. 

Contraction. —See Shkinkage. 

Converter. — A pear-shaped vessel resting on trun- 
nions, and provided with hydraulic apparatus for the pur- 
pose of rotating the same through an angle of 180°, or 
thereabouts. It consists of an outer casing of wrought-iron 
plates, held together by rivets, and is suspended by means 
of a strong steel band carrying two trunnions which is 
secured on the body of the converter at its widest part. 
The trunnions run in bearings connected with uprights, 
one of them being solid, and the other hollow ; the latter 
serves as a passage for the blast, and carries a gear-wheel. 

It is important tliat the lining of a converter be material 
of the most refractory character. Sometimes fire-brick is 
used, but cliiefly gannister, which is found to be better for 
this purpose than any other substance. The bottom of the 
converter is flat and contains a tuyere-box, or cylindrical 
chamber connected by a curved pipe with the hollow trun- 
nion. The tuyeres are round, tapered fire-bricks, each 
containing seven holes ^ inch in diameter. From 5 to 7 of 
these tuyeres are used, their lower ends protruding through 
a guard-plate in the top of the air-chamber ; the vertical 
position being maintained by stops which bear against hori- 
zontal arms that can be moved aside when any of the bricks 
are to be replaced, thus saving the necessity of removing 
the bottom of the converter. To turn the converter, a 
direct acting water-pressure engine is provided, the piston- 
rod of which carries a rack which gears into the wheel on 
the trunnion. See Bessemer Steel ; Gati^nisteii. 

Conveyers. — Conveying machinery is now to be found 
in successful operation in mills, mines, breweries, packing- 
houses, sugar refineries, coal-yards, boat-landings, brick, 
tile, and stone yards, in some macliiue-shops, but in very 
few foundries. The increasing demand for moulding ma- 



Cope. 112 Copper. 

cliinery has made it absolutely necessary that some form 
of conveyer be used in tlie foundry, not only to carry the 
enormous quantity of sand used to the moulders, but to 
carry it hence from off the foundry floor to be tempered 
and screened for use, and by this means utilize the space 
for moulds that would otherwise be required for storing 
and mixing sand. The endless open-trough conveyer, made 
of roller carrier chain, or some of the many forms of spiral 
conveyers, are eminently adapted for this purpose. 

Cope. — (1) The top part of a set of flasks (see 
Flasks). (2) The brick structure in which the outer 
surface of a loam-mould is formed. Usually a cope is built 
to a uniform thickness of one brick lengthwise, and, if 
necessary, are further strengthened with binding-plates set 
therein at intervals. See Bikdii^g-plate ; Cope-ring; 
Loam-moulding. 

Cope-rin^. — A cast-iron ring for the purpose of car- 
rying the cope of a loam-mould. The inside diameter is 
made large enough to clear a tapered seating formed below, 
or past the mould at the bottom, the impression of which 
is carried in the brick cope built upon the ring. See 
Seating; Guide; Loam-moulding. 

Copjjer. — This useful metal has been known from the 
earliest times. With tin it no doubt formed the first 
metallic compound, and was extensively employed by the 
ancients in the production of ornaments, statuary, domes- 
tic utensils, and implements of war. Pliny informs us that 
the Roman supply was drawn from Cyprus, the metal be- 
ing called cyprmm for that reason. The latter word was 
corrupted to n(2^rum, from whence is derived the English, 
copper. 



Copper. 113 Copper. 

The color of copper is a brilliant reel, its specific gravity 
8.788, its tenacity only somewhat below that of iron, and 
higher than either silver or gold. Copper melts at 2550"; 
its malleability and ductility is high, takes a remarkable 
degree of polish, ranks next to silver as a conductor of 
electricity, is hardly affected by dry air, but, on exposure 
to a damp atmosphere, a green carbonate gathers on its 
surface. 

This metal is widely distributed throughout nature, oc- 
curring in ores, soils, and waters — in fact, it is almost as uni- 
versal as iron. In Lake Superior the metal occurs native, 
and in some instances irregular masses exceeding 100 tons 
in weight are found. 

Out of nearly a dozen different ores ciqjrite, or red oxide, 
contains the most metal — about 80 per cent when pure — 
the rest yielding smaller quantities. Obrysolica, a hydrat- 
ed silicate of copper found in Chili, Missouri, and Wiscon- 
sin, yields only 30 per cent. The Cornish ores consist of 
copper pyrites, a sulphide of copper and iron. 

There are three ways of obtaining copper from its ores, 
the dry, or pyro-metallurgical, the wet, or hydro-metallur- 
gical, and the electro-metallurgical; but the two former are 
the methods generally employed. The dry method, or 
smelting, is invariably pursued when the ores contain over 
5 per cent of copper; for a lower grade than this the wet 
process only is profitable. Swansea and Lancashire are the 
chief copper-smelting centres in Great Britain. The ores 
are selected with a view to special treatment, according 
to their character. The first operation is calcining in 
reverberatory furnaces, where the ore is spread 8 inches 
deep on the bottom and subjected to the action of air 
and fire at a dull -red heat, being frequently turned 
over to expose every part to their combined influence for 
from 12 to 24 hours, according to the proportion of sul- 
phide of iron, silica, etc., contained in the charge. The 



Copper. 114 Copper. 

sulphur by this action is partly burned off and forms sul- 
phurous and sulphuric acids; partially volatilized in the 
pure state; arsenic volatilizes and is oxidized; and some 
sulphur from the copper and iron forms oxides by combin- 
ing with the oxygen. The calcined ore is then fused in 
the reverberatory ore-fusing furnace, which is provided 
with a hopper through which to effect the charging, the 
charge usually consisting of calcined ore 2600, metal-slag 
from previous operations 800, cobbing 250. About five 
hours' hard firing reduces this to a fluid mass, which, after 
being well skimmed, is tapped into perforated iron boxes, 
which are suspended in cisterns 50 inches square and 80 
inches deep, full of water. At this stage the compound 
analyzes at : copper 33, sulphur 29, iron 33, and is termed 
granulated or coarse metal. . It is subsequently recalcined, 
in a similar manner as for the ore, in 4-ton charges. 
About 24 hours, at a gradually increasing heat, up to a 
bright red, prepares the metal for running off into mihs, 
where it is treated to another bath of water, after which it 
is again fused, and by this treatment the silica and oxide 
of iron combine to form slags, which are skimmed off and 
the metal again tapped, but in this case it is run into sand- 
moulds. The resulting compound is now called blue metal, 
and consists of copper 58, sulphur 20, iron 12. 

It is now ready for a further treatment by roastiyig, in 
charges of 3 tons. The roasting furnace is provided with 
side charging arrangements and additional air-holes in the 
bridge, through which a free current of air is admitted, 
passing over the fused mass, which is kept in a semi-fluid 
state for about 24 hours, during which time much more of 
the sulphur has been driven off, and the iron turned into 
slag by its union with silica, the latter being constantly 
skimmed off as it is formed. 

At this stage, when other impurities have been driven 
off, it has become a sulphide of copper, and must receive 



Copper. 115 Copper. 

still another 24 hours' roasting to eliminate the sulphur, 
after which it is again tapped into sand-moulds, forming, 
according to quality, the several kinds of copper known as 
blister, coarse, pimpled, and heel copper. Ingots showing 
a smooth, hollow surface indicate the presence of tin, and 
are called ^er?; a pimply surface indicates sulphur; scales 
of oxide on the surface indicate the blister quality, which 
is esteemed as ready for refining, and, in this state, con- 
sists of copper 98.1, iron .7, manganese, cobalt, and nickel 
.3, arsenic and tin .4, sulphur .2. 

The Siemens Kegenerative Furnace is esteemed as the 
best for refining. Its form is reverberatory, almost like the 
roasting-furnace, except that the bed inclines towards the 
reservoir at the end, where, by means of a door, the refined 
metal may be skimmed off and dipped out. When the 
metal has collected, it is subjected to polling by thrusting 
a piece of green oak to the bottom and holding it there. 
Dipping tests by the refiner indicate when the metal has 
attained the proper degree of fibre. When the polling ceases 
the surface is at once covered with charcoal, and a little 
lead added if the copper is required for rolling or forging; 
but no lead is employed when the best quality of commer- 
cial copper is made. See Refin"i:n'G. 

The luet process of grinding and roasting, by which 
means sulphuric acid is formed, and attacks the oxide of 
copper. The sulphate resulting from this treatment is dis- 
solved, and the copper precipitated by peroxide of iron. 

Dilute sulphuric acid and muriatic acids scarcely act upon 
copper; boiling oil of vitriol attacks it, with evolution of 
sulphurous anhydride. Nitric acid, even dilute, dissolves it 
readily, with evolution of nitric acid. 

Copper unites readily with almost all other metals in 
certain proportions, and not a few of its compounds are of 
the highest importance in the arts; it may be said that 
copper is even more important and valuable as a constitu- 



Copperas. 116 Copperas. 

ent element in a large number of alloys than it could pos- 
sibly be as a pure metal. It is somewhat difficult to make 
castings free from blow-holes with pure copper. An excel- 
lent remedy for this is to flux with about one ounce of zinc 
to each four pounds of coj^per. 

Copper combines easily with gold in all proportions, with 
the result of increased fusibility and hardness ; but the 
ductility is impaired as the hardness increases, its greatest 
degree of hardness occurring when the proportion of copper 
is y^g. The increased fusibility of the alloy admits of its 
being used as a solder for gold. 

Bronze, brass, and German-silver are the principal alloys 
in which copper enters as a chief ingredient. With zinc, it 
forms brass ; with lead, pot, metal ; with zinc and nickel, 
German-silver; with zinc, tin, and arsenic, tombac; with 
tin, bronze. 

The aliuninum bronzes consist of pure copper alloyed 
with from If to 10 per cent aluminum. Pliosplior bronze 
has from 2|^ to 15 per cent tin and from \ to 2J per 
cent phosphorus, according to what it may be required 
for. 

Besides these there are the very numerous and excellent 
copper alloys for manufacturing purposes, in which the 
three metals, tin, zinc, and lead, are mixed with it in vary- 
ing quantities; and others again in which sulphur, bismuth, 
antimony, cobalt, nickel, silver, iron, etc., are employed in 
small proportions. See Brass; Bronze; German"-silver; 
ZiN"c ; Lead; Pot-metal; Tombac; Aluminum-bron^ze; 
Phosphor-bronze; Silver; Alloys; Solders; Fontain- 
MOREAu's Bronzes; Music-metal. | 

Copperas (Green copperas). — The commercial name 
for sulphate of iron, a compound of the protoxide of iron s 
with sulphuric acid. It is largely manufactured from iron 
pyrites, which furnishes by oxidation both the acid and the 



Core. 117 Core-barrel. 

base. It is often a beautiful mineral, the crystals being 
a very perfect shape. See Sulphur. 

Core. — The inner portion of a mould, partially or wholly 
surrounded with metal. It may be composed of greensand, 
dry-sand, loam, or iron ; the latter usually consisting of a 
tapered chill with some covering of carbon, as tar, etc., to 
protect it from the action of the molten metal. 

The Anti-chill Core Compound Company, Peoria, 111., 
explain their core as follows : 

^'Instead of the present process of using a sand core, we 
use a metal core made of cold-rolled steel shafting of the 
same size as the shaft on which the casting is intended to 
be run or used, turning out the castings ready for use, there- 
by saving from 50 to 75 per cent on the dollar in machine- 
finishing labor, such as boring, drilling, key-seating, feather- 
ing, etc., required when the sand core is used. This metal 
core before using, is coated by dipping into our compound, 
which prevents the molten metal from adhering to the 
core, and also prevents all chilling, blowing, straining, 
cracking, etc., of the iron or casting." 

Core-arbor. — A central rectangular beam, or core bar, 
to which are cast on, or bolted thereto, wings which corre- 
spond in their conformation to the shape of mould or core 
to be made thereon. Such arbors are employed for carry- 
ing the cores of })ipes and columns, round or square, espe- 
cially when made in greensand. See Core Irok. 

Core-barrel. — A tube or cylinder of cast or wrought 
iron, provided with a gudgeon at each end, on which to re- 
volve while the core is formed upon it. The common 
barrel has holes cast or drilled at intervals througliout its 
length, to permit a Jree escape for the gases, which, when 
the casting is poured, are copiously emitted from the straw 
rope and surrounding loam. See Ordnajstce; Vekts. 



Core box. 118 Core-lathe. 

Core-l)OX.— A general term applying to all devices 
for forming cores, but more correctly to those which the 
pattern constructs out of wood. A matrix may be formed 
in the sand in which to ram a core, or a brick cope can be 
constructed in loam for that purpose. Contrivances of such 
a character can scarcely come under the head of core-boxes, 
yet they answer the same end. See Spindle. 

Core-compound. — A substitute offered by various 
patentees for flour, resin, molasses, sawdust, or other sub- 
stances commonly employed for stiffening, hardening, and 
venting cores. It is claimed for most of these compounds 
that they give body to the sand, burn without smoke or 
smell, are always uniform and ready for use; that they do 
not blow, they rap out easily; and, last but not least, that 
they are cheaper than any of the several things mentioned 
above. There certainly is one advantage in these prepared 
compounds : once the exact quantity for effective use is 
ascertained, the too common annoyance of too much or too 
little flour, etc., is obviated to the sensible advantage of all 
concerned. See Flour; Kosik; Molasses; Venting. 

Core Iron. — A core iron may consist of a cast grate 
with pricker extensions for binding all parts of the entire 
core to one common core iron; or, it may be one of many 
which, being set and rammed within the sand contrariwise 
throughout the core, partially answers the purpose of a 
grate or other contrivance — in which instance they are 
often designated as " tie-rods," from the fact that, in dry 
cores especially, the sand clings to the inclosed iron and 
partakes of its strength. See Core-arbor. 

Core-lathe is the arrangement employed for covering 
a core-barrel with the requisite material and fashioning a 
core upon its outer surface. It consists of a pair of stands 



Core-nails. 119 Core-print. 

or trestles having V-sliaped notches or semicircles on their 
upper edges in which to rest the trunnions of a core- 
barrel, or perhaps to receive a turned depression in the 
core-barrel itself. A handle or crank at the end serves to 
revolve the barrel while the core-maker pays out the straw 
rope upon it. A subsequent coat of clay, followed by an- 
other of loam, is fashioned by means of a sweep -board or 
templet at the back, the ends of which rest on the trestles. 
The core is thus shaped to the outline of the board, the 
diameter being regulated by the distance at which it is 
placed from the axis. See Core-barrel. 

Core-nails. — A cheap description of cut-nails made 
specially for foundry purposes. Many founders seem to 
be ignorant of the existence of these useful substitutes for 
the best nails, and permit the inordinate use of finishing 
and other nails, which, although they cost much more, are 
not even as good for the purpose as common ones. See 
Nails. 

Core-oven. — See Ovek. 

Core-plate. — A plate of either cast or wrought iron, 
on which to convey green cores to the oven. A very good 
plate for this purpose is made by riveting light angle-iron 
to thin sheet iron. These are much superior to cast iron, 
and cost no more to make. 

Core-print.— A tapered boss on a pattern or model, 
indicating the place where a hole corresponding with it in 
size and shape must be made in the casting. A print of 
this description is frequently termed a " seating." These 
prints should always be as large as the intended hole, at the 
point of contact with the pattern, tapering a little from 
thence outwards, just sufficient for a clean draw from the 
sand. 



Core-sand. 120 Core- wash. 

That end of the core which enters the print is called the 
"print-end/' 

When castings, as columns, pipes, etc., are cast horizon- 
tally, the prints which guide and support the core in that 
position are naturally styled " bearings." See Seating. 

Core-sand is sand possessing qualities that will favor 
the production of a good sound core with the minimum 
quantity of gas-producing substances in its composition; 
and that will leave the casting clean and free from scars, 
with comparatively no expense for labor. To that end 
sands should be chosen which contain the least possible 
proportion of alumina and organic matter. The requisite 
consistency can be temporarily imparted by substances 
which, while they stiffen the core sufficient for handling, 
are acted upon by the molten metal, burning the artificial 
substance out, and leaving the sand as incohesive as it was 
in its original state. Silica sands, beach, and river sands, 
are eminently useful for this purpose, and even indifferent 
clayey sands may be much improved, if subjected to the 
process of washing, to eliminate foreign substances there- 
from before using. See Sakd-washing; Flouk; Molas- 
ses; Glue, 

Core-stove. — An oven in which to dry cores. See 

OVEIT. 

Core-wash. — A special manufacture, intended to su- 
persede the ordinary blackings mixed in the foundry. 

This wash is a preparation of black lead and other 
materials. It makes a hard skin or veneer on the mould, 
which does not rub off nor run before the molten metal 
while the latter is flowing into the mould, and conse- 
quently the castings come out "sound, smooth, and per- 
fect." The wash is applied with a brush to the mould, 



Corrosion. 121 Corundum. 

and when a very smooth surface is desired on the castings, 
it is applied before drying and smootiied with a slicker; 
while for ordinary work the wash can be used before or 
after it is dried, while the mould is still hot, and without 
smoothing. 

For very heavy work two or even three coats may be 
applied, to insure the best results. See Facing. 

Corrosion. — The act of eating or wearing away by 
slow degrees, as by the action of acids on metal and other 
substances. 

Corrosive Sublimate is the chloride of mercury, 
and is formed by sublimation from a mixture of sulphate of 
the protoxide of mercury and common salt. It has a dis- 
agreeable, acrid taste, and is extremely poisonous. It is a 
white, transparent substance, dissolves in 16 parts of cold 
and 3 parts of boiling water, and crystallizes from a hot 
solution in long, white prisms. 

Corsicaii Furnace. — A smelting-furnace similar in 
nearly all respects to the Catalan Forge. See Catalan 
Forge. 

Corundum. — A mineral almost equal to the sapphire 
in hardness, and for that reason it is employed, like emery, 
for polishing metals and hard stones. It is pulverized, 
mixed with glue, and other gum compositions, and mould- 
ed into all forms of wheels for grinding and polishing 
every variety of articles produced in the metal industry. 

The colors of corundum are various, including green, 
blue, red, inclining to gray, of a shining lustre, translu- 
cent or opaque; specific gravity, 4; fusible only by the com- 
pound blowpipe. The composition of corundum is : crys- 
talline alumina 85.5, silex 7, oxide of iron 14. It is found 



Cottar. 122 Crane. 

in the East Indies, China, the United States, and uther 
places. The Chinese varieties are called adama7itine-spai\ 
See Emery; Precious Ston"es. 

Cottar. — A wedge-shaped, malleable-iron or steel key, 
used for drawing flasks together. See Pii^, and Cottar. 

Course. — A row or layer of bricks in a loam-mould is 
termed a course of hrich. 

A binding-course is one row of bricks set end in, to rest 
on the inner and outer course. 

Crossing the course means to break the joints by setting 
the succeeding courses so that each brick shall be equally 
divided upon the two bricks upon which it is laid. Very 
strong moulds may be built by a strict observance of this 
rule, often rendering it unnecessary to make binding- 
plates. See BiNDiKG-PLATES ; Loam-mouldij^g. 

Covering-plate. — A cast plate of any desired form 
provided with prickers for carrying the rammed sand or 
swept loam on its surface. Its use is principally in loam- 
moulding, as a final covering part, after cores and cope 
have been closed together in their respective places. Also 
called top -plate. See Plate ; Prickers ojs" Plates ; 

LOAM-MOULDIKG. 

Crab. — A portable crane or winch, with gear-wheel on 
the barrel-shaft, in which a pinion is made to work by 
means of cranks at each end of the pinion-shaft. See 
Crab; Crake. 

Cramp. — A common name for any device for hold- 
ing two or more articles together — as a flask-clamp. See 
Clamp. 

Crane is a hoist- having the capacity of moving the 
load in a horizontal or lateral direction. They are classed 



» 



Crane. 123 Crane. 

as rotary and rectilinear, and are termed hand when oper- 
ated by manual power ; ponder, when driven by power de- 
rived from aline of shafting; steam, hydraulic, ox 'pneu- 
matic, when driven by steam, water, or air, under pressure 
carried to the cranes by pipes from a fixed source. Sioing- 
cranes rotate, but have no trolley movement. Jib-cranes 
rotate, and have a trolley traveller on the jib. Column- 
cranes are the same as jibs, but rotate round a fixed col- 
umn that supports a roof or floor above. Pillar-cranes 
rotate on a pillar secured to a foundation. Pillar-jib- 
cranes are similar to the latter, but are supplied with a jib 
and trolley. Derrich-cranes are similar to jibs, excepting 
that guy-rods hold the mast-head instead of roof-beams. 
Bridge-cranes have a fixed bridge across an opening, with 
a trolley traversing the bridge. Tram-cranes consist of 
a truck or short bridge, which travels longitudinally on 
overhead rails, but having no trolley. Travelling -cranes 
consist of a bridge moving longitudinally on overhead 
tracks, and a trolley moving transversely on the bridge. 
Gantries are an overhead bridge, carried at each end by a 
trestle travelling on longitudinal tracks on the ground, and 
having a trolley moving transversely on the bridge. 

The overhead tramrail system of the Yale & Towne 
Company are a marvel of exactness and efficiency where it 
is desired to move loads that must be suspended during the 
operation. These are constructed for both indoor and out- 
side use. The track is composed of "I" beams; special 
facilities are provided for curving and fitting, switches 
and turntables being supplied when necessary. The sys- 
tem thus admits of extension and use in the same man- 
ner as a surface railroad. A special form of trolley is 
arranged to run freely on the lower flange of the suspend- 
ed track, and is provided with four wheels, two on each 
side, carried in a flexible frame, so that they adapt them- 
selves to the irregularities of the track and pass easily 



Crane-ladle. 124 Cross. 

around curves. These trolley-cranes are constructed to 
carry over ten-ton loads. The above-named company have 
done much to bring crane engineering to the high state of 
efficiency now attained; others also have not been slow to 
note the ever-increasing demands and requirements of this 
advanced age. 

The Ridgeiuay Balanced Steam Hydraulic Crane is a 
model of simplicity and effectiveness ; it is attaclied to 
the ordinary steam supply, yet it is a true hydraulic crane, 
requiring no pumps or accumulators, and no water is con- 
sumed. The load is attached directly to the piston-rod, 
and the cylinder supplied with steam, water, or compressed 
air by a hose. 

WalkUig cranes consist of a pillar or jib crane mounted 
on wheels and arranged to travel upon one or more rails. 
Locomotive cranes are similar to the latter, but are provided 
with a steam-engine and boiler capable of propelling and 
rotating the crane, and of hoisting and lowering the load. 
See Iron^ Carrier. 

Crane-ladle.— See Ladle. 

Crank — sometimes called the crane-handle — is a short 
arm or lever turned at right angles. One side is made 
round and smooth, to revolve easily in the hands while 
rotating the hoisting and other motions of the crane; the 
other angle terminates with a swaged hole to fit the 
squared end of the shafts which carry the gearing. See 
Crake. \ 

Cross. — A four-winged iron beam, provided with a 
central ring for suspending in the crane-hook. The wings 
or arm-ends for some distance are evenly notched to re- 
ceive beam-hooks or slings. By this means each of the 
four slings is suspended vertically, and clear of the cope or 



Crow-bar. 125 Crucible. 

core, separate lugs being provided under which to insert 
the slings. See Slings; Beam-hooks; Beam. 

Crow-bar. — A steel or iron bar, with one end forged 
to a wedge. Bars of this kind are usually employed for 
chiselling, digging, and lifting. When it is desired to 
make a lever of such bars, for pinching at the backs of 
wheels, etc., the end should be formed with a "heel," some 
slight distance back from the point which acts as a fixed 
fulcrum. See Lever. 

Crowii-x>late. — The plate which covers in the core 
of a loam-mould, as a pan, kettle, or condenser core, or any 
casting where the metal flows over the top when the mould 
is filled. 

When the arch of a kettle core is turned with bricks 
entirely, the last courses of bricks are termed the croiuning- 
courses. See Course; Kettle. 

Crucible. — A melting-pot for melting brass, cast iron, 
steel, etc., as well as for a numerous variety of chemical 
purposes. The common crucible is made of clay, and 
designed to withstand a strong heat. The best of this class 
are the " Hessian " crucibles, which contain a proportion- 
ate quantity of sand, mixed with clay of a highly refactory 
nature. 

The ordinary crucible is made from two parts Stour- 
bridge clay and one part very hard coke — the coke to be 
well ground and the two ingredients well mixed and tem- 
pered together. 

Crucibles for melting steel must be made from the best 
ingredients, and should show a special toughness during 
the high temperature required for steel-melting. If soft, 
they are apt to crush under the pressure exerted by the 
tongs with their load of 75 pounds of molten steel. The 



Crucible. 126 Crucible. 

materials generally employed are fire-day, burnt and raw, 
graphite, and ground coke. The burnt fire-clay is simply 
old crucibles, etc., perfectly freed from shig and scoria and 
ground into a fine powder. 

The Mushet crucibles for melting steel are made from 
Stourbridge clay 5, kaolin 5, ground crucible 1, ground 
coke IJ. These crucibles are from 16 to 19 inches high 
and 6 to 8 inches diameter. Many steel melters make their 
own crucibles, claiming that they can suit the crucible to 
the kinds of steel they are making. 

Krupp uses his crucibles but once for steel. They are 
then ground, and mixed with plumbago to make other 
crucibles with, the latter substance being the only ingredi- 
ent used. 

Black-lead crucibles were first made by Joseph Dixon, 
founder of the present company in Jersey City, in the 
year 1827. They became at once the standard at home 
and abroad, and continue so to be to the present day. 
They are made of this material from ^ pound to 1000 
pounds capacity, and are for melting steel, brass, gold, 
copper, silver, German-silver, pure nickel, white metal, etc., 
and also for file-tempering. 

Black-lead crucibles are all annealed before shipping, but 
immediately on arrival they should be unpacked and stored 
in a warm, dry place to expel any moisture that may have 
been absorbed in the transit. To provide against possible 
accident, it is always wise to re-anneal. Before placing in 
the hot furnace, the temperature of a crucible should be 
slowly raised to at least 212° F., or a little above the tem- 
perature of boiling water. 

All clay crucibles, new or old, should be gradually 
heated, mouth down, up to a red heat before chargin^^, 
and, whether in the preparatory heating, or subsequent 
firing for melting, the crucible should always be well cov- 
ered with fuel J otherwise the unequal temperatures induced 



Crucible furnace. 137 Crucible-steel. 

by carelessness in tliis particular will result in a broken 
pot. If clay crucibles could be kept constantly in use 
without allowing them to become cold alternately, there is 
no reason why they should not last from 15 to 20 meltings, 
especially if they are kept clear from scoria, and repaired 
occasionally with a paste made from silica, fire-clay, and 
coke-dust. Lifting-tongs should always be made to fit the 
crucible snugly, at as many places as convenient, to pre- 
vent splitting. By exerting the pressure unequally on 
the sides of a crucible very many accidents occur ; espe- 
cially is this to be observed in regard to large ones. 

Crucibles should always be returned to the furnace 
mouth downwards, after the heat is through, so that the 
cooling may occur gradually. 

The best graphite crucibles should last from 20 to 30 
meltings, and, whilst they may be less liable to fracture 
from sudden changes in the temperature, it is well to ob- 
serve, in some measure at least, the directions given for 
clay ones. The above instructions refer to brass- melting 
only. See Stourbridge Clay; Kaolin; Plumbago; 
Graphite; Fire-clay; HESsiAi^-cRuciBLE; Crucible- 

TOi^GS. 

Crucible-furnace. — See Brass-furnace; Cruci- 
ble Steel. 

Crucible Steel. — Crucible or cast steel was first in- 
vented by Huntsman, of Sheffield, England, in 1740. He 
succeeded in effecting the complete fusion of blister-steel 
in crucibles — using the common crucible-furnace and heat- 
ing with coke surrounding the pot. This was finally 
poured into cast-iron ingots for the production of homo- 
geneous steel. Whilst the above represents the manufacture 
of homogeneous steel by melting blister-steel alone in cru- 
cibles, there are other methods extensively practised for 



Crucible-tongs. 128 Crusted-ladle. 

the production of steel in crucibles by fusing carbon, black 
oxide of manganese, or spiegeleisen in small proportions 
along with bar iron or puddled steel. A crucible mixture 
for tool cast steel is as follows : 

Swedish bar iron 50 pounds. 

Cast-steel scraps 30 " 

Ferro-manganese J " 

Charcoal i « 

Salt 4 « 

See Blister- steel; Puddle-steel; Steel. 

Crushed-joint. —See Fik. 

Crucible-tongs.— See Liftiitg-ton"gs. 

Crustecl-laclle is caused by the formation of scoria 
and oxide of iron on the surface of molten metal as it cools 
in the ladles. This, if allowed to remain unprotected from 
the cooliug action of the atmosphere, forms an impenetra- 
ble upper crust, througli which in time it becomes impos- 
sible to pour the metal, resulting sometimes in the whole 
mass havii]g to be remelted. A plentiful use of broken 
charcoal mixed with dust of the same acts as a preventa- 
tive of this by shielding the surface from the action of the 
atmosphere, and supplying a constant heat thereto as tlie 
charcoal is gradually consumed. When it is desired to 
keep metal in a ladle for a considerable length of time, let 
the surface be kept well covered with the charcoal, espe- 
cially around the outer edge, where it is necessary to watch 
particularly, as it is at that part where the crust first com- 
mences to form. If the edge is broken occasionally, and the 
supply of charcoal kept constant, the operation of preserv- 
ing the metal in a good fluid state will be helped consider- 
ably. 



Crystallization. 139 Crystallization. 

Crystallization. — The particles of many substances, 
when loosened either by melting, solution, or otherwise, so 
as to permit freedom of motion, tend to arrange themselves 
in regular geometrical forms, which are termed crystals. 
The name crystalloids is given to all substances which have 
this marked tendency, and to such as do not crystallize the 
name colloid, or glue-like, is given. 

Crystalloids are represented by such substances as water, 
metals, acids, sugar, etc.; while albumen, jellies, etc., are 
examples of colloids. Crystalloids incline to take compact, 
angular forms, while the colloids assume rounded outlines, 
and are of a soft, gelatinous, and yielding nature. 

The former bodies predominate in the inorganic world, 
the latter in the organic. It is found that almost all 
bodies when cooled take the crystalline form, though this 
may not be perceptible at first. The spaces left between 
the crystals which form are completely filled up by the 
portions which solidify afterwards, so that fracture reveals 
only a general crystalline structure, just as we find it in 
cast iron, zinc, etc., when broken. Common glass, wrought 
iron, flint, glue, etc., are amorphous bodies, without any 
form of crystalline structure ; these all fracture in any 
form or direction, are not so hard, and are more soluble 
than are substances of a crystalline nature. 

Crystalline carbon is represented in the diamond, while 
amorphous carbon finds its examples in common lamp- 
black and charcoal. A crystal is a piece of matter that by 
the action of molecular forces has assumed a definite geo- 
metrical form of some kind, with plain faces. 

Some metals as soon as cast are tenacious and uncrystal- 
line, but become brittle, with traces of crystallization, when 
heated and cooled repeatedly. Small as the amount of 
freedom given to the particles by heating and cooling, yet 
it seems sufficient to determine a tendency towards the crys- 
talline condition. By continuous hammering, metals are 



Cube. 130 Cupola. 

changed from a ductile to a brittle, crystalline state, as is 
proved by the workers in copper, who must frequently 
anneal the metal as they hammer it into shape; otherwise it 
would become so brittle that it would fly into fragments. 

Owing to the fact that crystallization does take place, 
even in solids, if the particles are left free, bells after a 
time alter in tone; cannons, from constant firing, lose their 
strength; and thus, by the constant jar and vibrations, as 
well as hard blows, chains, slings, etc., made from wrought 
iron gradually change from the tough and fibrous into the 
crystalline, which weakens them and increases their liabil- 
ity to fracture. See Amorphous ; Steel. 

Cube. — A regular solid body witli six equal square 
sides or faces, each of which is parallel to the one oppo- 
site to it. It is a form of frequent occurrence in nature, 
especially among crystals. See Crystallization, Amor- 
phous. 

Cubic Foot of Metals, Weight of. — See 

Weight of Metals. 

Cubic Incli of Metals, Weight of. — See 

Weight of Metals. 

Cupola. — A cupola is simply a foundry melting-fur- 
nace. Those now in common use are usually composed of 
an outer wrought-iron shell, inside of which is built a lin- 
ing of fire-bricks carefully set in their fire-clay, as close to- 
gether as possible, and in close proximity to the shell. 

Cupolas may be from two to eight feet in diameter up 
to the charging-door, according to requirements, beyond 
which point they can assume a conical shape for the chim- 
ney. Formerly all cupolas rested on a solid foundation of 
brick or stone-work; but they are now, as a rule, supported 



Cupola. 131 Cupola. 

on four iron columns, by which means the residue may be 
dropped clean out of the inside when through melting, 
instead of raking it out, as must be the case when a solid 
bottom is used. This is accomplished by providing hinged 
iron doors under the bottom, which, when the beat is over, 
may be dropped and thus allow the slag and cinders to fall 
tbrough into the pit below. 

For the former, a large breast-hole must be provided at 
the bottom, either front or back of the cupola, through 
which to rake out the cinder, etc. ; but for the improved 
ones a liole about seven incbes square is all that is re- 
quired, to which is attached the spout for leading the 
molten iron into the ladles. The spout and tap-hole are 
invariably made good with sand or fire-clay mixture for 
each heat. 

In some instances, for very small cupolas, the blast en- 
ters therein through one or two pipes; but for larger ones 
a continuous belt or wind-box encircles the cupola, out of 
which as many tuyeres as may be considered necessary are 
served, the wind-box being simply a continuation of the 
main blast-pipe leading from the blower or fan, which, if 
up to the required capacity and skilfully managed, will be 
regulated to supply a blast of such volume and pressure as 
will ensure perfect combustion of the fuel with sufficient 
rapidity to produce the intensity of heat required for melt- 
ing the metal which has been charged. 

See, under the following list, for details of cupola con- 
struction and management : 

Bed-fuel. Bolt-stick. 

Blast. Breast. 

Blast-gate. Bugs. 

Blast-gauge. Burnt-iron. 

Blast-pipe. Carbon. 

Blast-pressure. Carbonic Acid. 

1 Blowers. Carbonic Oxide. 

^j Bolt-clay. Carrying-bar. 



Cupro-manganese. 



132 



Curb. 



Cast Iron. 

Charge. 

Cliargiug-door. 

Cliargiug-hole. 

Charging the common cupoh 

Coal. 

Coke. 

Coke-fork. 

Combustion. 

Crusted-ladle. 

Cupola. 

Daubiug. 

Drop-bottom. 

Eye-piece. 

Fan. 

Fire-brick. 

Fire-clay. 

Flame. 

Flux. 

Fuel. 

Grades of Pig-iron. 

Greiuers cupola. 

Grouting. 

Hard Iron. 

Height of cupola. 



Hood. 

Hot-blast. 

Ladles. 

Lighting the cupola. 

Lining ladles. 

Lining the cupola. 

Oxygen. 

Pig-iron. 

Piston-blower. 

Pressure-blower. 

Pressure-gauge. 

Ratio of fuel to iron. 

Repairiug the cupola. 

Sand-bed. 

Scaffolding. 

Scrap. 

Shank. 

Silicon. 

Slag. 

Softeners. 

Soft-iron. 

Spout. 

Tappiug-bar. 

Tuyeres. 

Wind-box. 



Cupro-mang^anese. — See Makganese-copper. 



Curb. — An iron casing, in which to ram moulds that are 
made in loam. They may be whole or in sections, accord- 
ing to size and convenience, and are of great service when 
the moulds are shallow and it is not desirable to sink a pit. 
They may be employed in the pit also, in order to limit the 
amount of sand to be rammed round a mould to the small- 
est amount possible consistent with safety. By this means 
much time and labor is saved. Those in common use are 
simply boiler plate, riveted together if whole, and bolted if 
in sections. Improved sections are made that lock together 
with steel-pins, so that it becomes the simplest matter pos- 



Current. 133 Cutter. 

sible to alter the diameter to an unlimited extent. The 
most convenient depth for curbs is from 15 to 18 inches. 
See Pit; Loam-moulding; Ramming. 

Current. — Current is spoken of in the foundry in its 
relation to the flow of metal as it leaves the furnace, or as 
it flows from the ladle into the mould. It is also applied 
to the forced stream of molten metal as it issues from the 
gates and flows over the mould^'s surface. The current of 
metal, like all other fluids, is strongest at its source — for 
which reason there is always the greatest danger of abrasion 
nearest to the gates or runners ; hence special attention 
should be expended to make such parts of a mould more 
rigid and refractory than is necessary elsewhere. See Gates; 
Runner; Cutting; Scabbing. 

Curved-pipes . — See Bend-pipe. 

Cut-off. — A cut-off in founding is somewhat different 
to that in engineering, and means to arrange a riser in such 
a manner as will prevent the full head of pressure from being 
exerted on the mould. To do this effectually and with 
absolute certainty, the riser should instantly indicate when 
tlie mould is full, at which point the head-pressure in the 
running basin is at once checked by ceasing to pour. What 
remains in the basin flows through the casting, and out 
at the riser, which, being lower, tends to " cut off ^' just as 
much pressure as the difference in depth measures. See 
Riser; Weighting-copes; Pressure of Molten Metal. 

Cutter. — A sharp, curved tool for carving gates in the 
sand. Some are made exclusively for tliis purpose in steel 
or brass; others are merely a sharp-edged piece of tin or 
copper-plate that may be bent to any desirable shape. At 
best, such tools as ^^gate cutters" can only be called a 



Cutting. 134 Dam. 

make-shift; the cleane-r and more artistic m-ethod of form- 
ing gates is to ram them along with the pattern. See 
Gates. 

Cutting'. — The result of violent attrition of molten 
metal on unprotected and unsuitably prepared mould sur- 
faces. When, because of dampness, steam forms more 
rapidly than it can escape through the vents, it forces its 
way through the surface and lifts a portion of the mould's 
skin with it, forming a scab at that place. This by some is 
improperly termed a " cut " place. Cutting means a forced 
displacement of the surface caused by undue abrasion, or 
impact. The former happens when a large quantity of 
metal is urged over a surface not sufficiently unyielding in 
its nature to resist it successfully; the latter when such sur- 
faces are subjected to a fall of metal high enough to break 
them. See Scabbed Castings; Current; Gates; Run- 
ners. 

Cylinder-blower.— See Blower. 



D. 

Dabbers. — A foundry name for the projections or 
prickers cast on covering plates for loam -work. See 
Prickers. 

Dam. — A reservoir or tank used for collecting or 
gather i7ig a large quantity of metal to cast heavy castings. 
Whilst constructed in various ways, the main features con- 
sist in making it strong to maintain the metal, and of such 
materials as will conduce to its preservation in a good con- 
dition for casting with. A thoroughly well-dried loam 
and brick construction within suitable curbs is the best, 
taking care to have it as hot as possible when the metal 



Damascus Steel. 135 Dampness. 

enters, and keeping from 4 to 5 inches of dry charcoal on 
the surface. The mode of emptying the dam is usually by 
a shutter, which hermetically closes the outlet whilst it is 
being filled, and is raised by means of a controlling lever, 
so that the metal may be delivered at any desired speed. 
See Gathering Metal; Curbs; Shutter. 

Damascus Steel.— A steel originally made in Da- 
mascus. It is composed of layers of very pure iron and 
steel, worked with great care by heating and extraordinary 
forging, such as twisting, doubling, etc. See Steel. 

Damper. — A very useful and profitable device in a 
foundry oven, when intelligently managed. A right 
knowledge of its use saves both time and money to the 
founder. Frequently none are employed; and not un- 
frequently, at places where dampers were originally in- 
tended, they have been allowed to lapse into desuetude 
through sheer and unwarrantable neglect. Let a good- 
sized chimney, controlled by a full damper, be placed if 
possible central with the oven at the roof, and one on 
each side, diagonally, at the bottom, with these. Careful 
attention will discover in what manner to best rid the oven 
of steam, at the same time losing no heat. By constant 
application to find a satisfactory solution of the above 
problem, ovens with absolutely no record may easily have 
their value increased a hundredfold. See Ovens. 

Dampness. — The requisite degree of dampness in 
moulding-sand is a matter of great importance to the 
moulder. If too moist, steam is generated by the hot 
metal quicker than the vents will allow it to escape, and 
scabs will inevitably ensue. If not damp enough, it lacks 
consistency and fails to preserve its shape in the mould, 
being easily disturbed during the ordinary operations of 



Daubing. 136 Daubing 

moulding, and yielding too readily to the abrading action 
of the molten metal. See Vesting ; Scabbed Castin^gs. 

Daubing. — The clay mixture usually made by the 
cupola- man for repairing bad spots in the cupola and for 
lining the inside of ladles. Too frequently these mixtures 
are made by those who possess no knowledge whatever of the 
requirements in the case; the result being that the metal 
boils when it enters the ladles, and cupolas are prematurely 
worked out and always amiss for the want of a rightly 
mixed daubing for keeping them in good working shape. 

A good daubing for ladles is made from equal quantities 
of good moulding and fire sands, mixed well together in a 
dry state, to be afterwards brought to the right consistency 
for use by the addition of thick clay-wash made from com- 
mon clay. 

Daubing for repairing the cupola should be of a much 
stronger nature, and, what is of equal importance, should 
be properly applied and not thrown on the walls carelessly 
in thick lumps that only fall away into the stock as soon 
as the extreme heat is brought to bear upon it, leaving the 
part it has vacated entirely unprotected and very materially 
impeding the regular action of the cupola. 

A good daubing for cupolas is : Fire-clay (not common 
clay), 50 parts; fire-sand, of a good siliceous kind, 25 
parts; and ground fire-bricks, 25 parts — to be mixed well 
together when dry, and brought to the right consistency 
with water. This should be rubbed on evenly, as thin as 
possible ; and should the patching require to be more than 
one inch thick at any part, it is much better to cut some 
of the backing away and insert new bricks. 

Some have an idea that salt mixed with the sand and 
fire-clay for this purpose acts beneficially. I think this 
bad practice may have originated in a misconception of its 
right use in the stone and earthenware manufactories. 



Davy's lamp. 13 "J* Decimals. 

where salt is extensively employed as a glazing agent, its 
volatility at furnace heat combining with other qualities to 
fit it for this use. No doubt it has been thought by those 
who were only partially instructed in these matters that a 
permanent glaze, similar to that produced on the earthen- 
ware, might be imparted to the walls of the cupola by the 
use of salt; but if they will remember that salt fuses at a 
red heat, they will at once realize that any salt used for 
cupola purposes must constitute a slag-forming agent, at 
every heat, until every vestige of salt has been melted out. 
See Eepairing the Cupola; Cupola; Sea-water. 

Davy's-lamp.— See Safety-lamp. 

Dead-metal. — Metal that has lost heat to such ex- 
tent as to have become too sluggish to flow smoothly and 
give a sharp impression of the mould. See Faint-rujst. 

Decarbonize. — To deprive any substance of its car- 
bon. This word is synonymous with decarburize, and 
means to take the carbon from — as decarbonizing steel or 
iron. See Decarbonizing Processes. 

Decarbonizing Processes. — The process of de- 
carbonizing takes place in puddling and boiling furnaces 
when cast iron is, by heating, deprived of its carbon, and 
thus made malleable. But there are many special decar- 
bonizing and desulphurizing processes by which these su- 
perfluous elements are eliminated from cast iron. See 
Malleable Iron; Puddling. 

Decimals Changed to Parts of a Ponnd 
Avoirdupois. — The following table converts each deci- 
mal of a pound, of 16 ounces, into ounces and drachms, 
and is very serviceable when it is desired to change the 
formulas that are stated in decimal proportion : 



Decimals. 



138 



Decimals. 



Decimal. 


Oz. 


Dr. 


Decimal. 


Oz. Dr. 


Decimal. 


Oz Dr. 


Decimal. 


Oz Dr. 


.003 




1 


.128 


2 1 


.253 


4 1 


.378 


6 1 


.007 




2 


.132 


2 2 


.257 


4 2 


.382 


6 2 


•Oil 




3 


.136 


2 3 


.261 


4 3 


.386 


6 3 


.015 




4 


.140 


2 4 


.265 


4 4 


.390 


6 4 


.019 




5 


.144 


2 5 


.269 


4 5 


.394 


6 5 


.023 




6 


.148 


2 6 


.273 


4 6 


.398 


6 6 


.027 




7 


.152 


2 7 


.277 


4 7 


.402 


6 7 


.031 




8 


.156 


2 8 


.281 


4 8 


.406 


6 8 


.035 




9 


.160 


2 9 


.285 


4 9 


.410 


6 9 


.039 




10 


.164 


2 10 


.289 


4 10 


.414 


6 10 


.043 




11 


.168 


2 11 


.293 


4 11 


.418 


6 11 


.046 




12 


.171 


2 12 


.297 


4 12 


.421 


6 12 


.050 




13 


.175 


2 13 


.300 


4 13 


.425 


6 13 


.054 




14 


.179 


2 14 


.304 


4 14 


.429 


6 14 


.058 




15 


.183 


2 15 


.308 


4 15 


.433 


6 15 


.062 







.187 


3 


.312 


5 


.437 


7 


.066 




1 


.191 


3 1 


.316 


5 1 


.441 


7 1 


.070 




2 


.195 


3 2 


.320 


5 2 


.445 


7 2 


.074 




3 


.199 


3 3 


.324 


5 3 


.449 


7 3 


.078 




4 


.203 


3 4 


.328 


5 4 


.453 


7 4 


.082 




5 


.207 


3 5 


.332 


5 5 


.457 


7 5 


.085 




6 


.210 


3 6 


.335 


5 6 


.460 


7 6 


.089 




7 


.214 


3 7 


.339 


5 7 


.464 


7 7 


.093 




8 


.218 


3 8 


.343 


5 8 


.468 


7 8 


.097 




9 


222 


3 9 


.347 


5 9 


.472 


7 9 


.101 




10 


.226 


3 10 


.351 


5 10 


.476 


7 10 


.105 




11 


.230 


3 11 


.355 


5 11 


.480 


7 11 


.109 




12 


.234 


3 12 


.359 


5 12 


.484 


7 12 


.113 




13 


.238 


3 13 


.363 


5 13 


.488 


7 13 


.117 




14 


.242 


3 14 


.367 


5 14 


.492 


7 14 


.121 




15 


.246 


3 15 


.371 


5 15 


.496 


7 15 


.125 


2 





.250 


4 


.375 


6 


.500 


8 



i 



Decimals of 1, or Unity, Cliang^ed to 
Fractions. — The followiug table affords a ready refer- 
ence for obtaining the vulgar equivalents of the decimal 
fractions of 1, or unity : 



^ = .015625 


tV = .3125 


H= .6875 


-^ = .03135 


f = .375 


i = .75 


-^ = .0625 


tV = .4375 


{i = .8125 


i = .125 


i =.5 


i = .875 


A = .1875 


T% = .5635 


ii= .9375 


i =.35 


1 = .635 


1 = 1.0000 



Deliver. 139 Deoxidation. 

Deliver. — This term applies to the withdrawal of a 
pattern from the sand. It is said to deliver ill or well 
according to the condition of the mould it has been the 
means of forming. See Pattekn^; Draft. 

Delta-metal. — A gun-metal of great density and 
strength. Its comp®sition is : copper 56, tin 1, zinc 41, 
iron 2. The wrought iron must be alloyed with the zinc 
in due proportion, and introduced as an iron-zinc alloy, 
in known proportions, in the customary manner. This 
alloy is similar to sterro-metal. An addition of lead (0.40 
per cent) makes the composition more ductile and soft, and 
it is then called Tobin-bronze. Delta-metal can be forged 
or rolled at a dull-red heat, and may be drawn or ham- 
mered to a certain limit when cold. Castings made from 
this alloy are remarkable for their soundness, and have 
a tensile strength of from 40,000 to 50,000 pounds per 
square inch. See Bronze. 

Density is the proportionate quantity of matter in 
bodies of a given magnitude ; thus, if a body contain more 
matter than another, both being of the same bulk, the for- 
mer is said to be more dense than the other. The quan- 
tity of matter is measured by the weight, and thus density 
and specific gravity come to be proportional to one another. 
Platina, which is about 21 times the weight of water, long 
passed for the densest body, but iridium is even more 
dense. Rare is opposed to dense; the rarest body known 
is hydrogen, which is about 14^ times rarer than atmos- 
pheric air. Density of bodies is increased by cold and 
diminished by heat. See Specific Gravity. 

Deoxiclation. — A term applied to the process of 
withdrawing the oxygen from a compound. 



deoxidized Bronze. 140 Deoxidized Bronze. 

Deoxidized Bronze. — The claims made by the 
Deoxidized Metal Company, Bridgeport, Conn., for their 
special manufacture of bronze is as follows : 

Deoxidized bronze is deoxidized copper alloyed with tin 
in any proportions desired. Thus making deoxidized 
bronze of any mixture stronger, tougher, denser, harder, 
and yet of greater elastic limit than the same mixtures of 
metal not deoxidized. See copy of test made by the U. S. 
Navy Department at Watertown Arsenal, Aug. 24, 1889, 
between bronze of the proportions of — 

Copper 88 

Tin 10 

Zinc 2 

made by deoxidized Metal Company of above proportions, 
and deoxidized ; and bronzes of same proportions made at 
the Navy Yards at Portsmouth, N. H., Norfolk, Va., and 
New York, N. Y., but not deoxidized. This report shows 
that taking the average of the samples from the different 
Navy Yards, the deoxidized samples show a superiority of — 

^^To P^i* cent in tensile strength. 

58 " '' " elastic limit. 

18 " ^' " transverse strength. 

44 ** *' " hardness. 

60 " '' " compression. 

23 " " " elastic limit, under compression. 

As our price in ingot metal is less than 15 per cent 
greater than the same would be not deoxidized, it will be 
perceived that purchasers benefit themselves about 50 per 
cent in using deoxidized bronze, instead of making their 
own alloys — besides making surer casting. It is also proper 
to say, that deoxidized bronze of above mixtures with the 
zinc omitted is 15 per cent greater in tensile strength than 
with it, as shown by tests at Watertown Arsenal, made 
September 22, 1888. 



Deoxidized Copper. 141 Deoxidized Copper. 

Deoxidized copper and bronze is superior to all copper 
and bronze not deoxidized. See Deoxidized Copper. 

Deoxidized Copper. — The following is a statement 
by the Bridgeport Deoxidized Metal Company in regard to 
their processes with copper : 

Deoxidized copper is Calumet and Hecla Lake copper, 
the purest and best copper in the world, from which the 
suboxide of the copper and the oxygen has been removed 
by our processes — thereby rendering the copper denser, 
stronger, tougher, and purer; enabling us to make solid 
castings of deoxidized copper 20 per cent denser, 35 per 
cent stronger, 50 per cent tougher, and 5 per cent better 
conductivity than the same copper not deoxidized, as per 
certificates and testimonies following : 

Comparative analyses made at School of Mines, New 
York, of Calumet and Hecla Lake copper, with the same 
copper deoxidized : 

CALUMET AND HECLA LAKE COPPER. 

Coustituents. No. 1. 2. 3. 

Metallic copper 99.854 99.63 98.10 

Suboxide of copper 0.293 0.324 1.95 

L'on 0.015 0.011 

Tin 0.021 

Silver 0.012 0.024 0.03 

Phosphorus trace .... trace 

Arsenic, nickel, zinc, lead, antimony, sulphur — none. 

DEOXIDIZED LAKE COPPER. 
Constituents. 

Metallic copper 99.80 

Suboxide of copper 0.07 

Iron 0.01 

Tin 0.01 

Silver 0.02 



Deoxidized Copper. 1 42 Deoxidized Copper. 

Arsenic, lead, phosphorus, antimony, sulphur, 
aluminum, zinc, nickel, cobalt — none. 

MEA]Sr OF THE ANALYSES OF LAKE COPPER. 

Metallic copper 99.19 

Suboxide 85 

DEOXIDIZED COPPER. 

Metallic copper 99.89 

Suboxide 07 

Taking the mean of the results of tests by tension, the 
deoxidized bronze shows a superiority of 65.8 per cent in 
tensile strength and 58 per cent in elastic limit over the 
Navy Yard bronzes, with 53 per cent less elongation and 
36 per cent less reduction of area. 

All the Navy Yard bronzes when fractured showed large 
crystals of both copper and tin. The specimens from the 
Deoxidized Metal Company, on the contrary, show in fract- 
ure a very fine, even grain of lavender color, and were 
fine specimens of castings. 

Short sections of tensile specimens have been forwarded 
by express to the bureau, which will show the appearance 
of the fractures in both the deoxidized and Navy Yard 
bronzes. 

TESTS BY COMPRESSION. 

The deoxidized specimens showed a superiority over the 
other bronzes of 60 per cent in strength and 23 per cent 
in elastic limit. 

All specimens broke by triple flexure. 

Deoxidized bronze as furnished for the above tests is 
remarkably close grained and homogeneous. It turns well 
in the lathe and is susceptible of high polish. It does not 
tarnish by exposure to the atmosphere as readily as the 
other bronzes tested, all of which have been exposed to like 
conditions since July 14th of this year, the deoxidized 



Dephosphorizing Process. 143 Diamond. 

specimens being still intact, while the others are per- 
ceptibly tarnished. See Copper. 

Dephosphorizing- Process.— See Basic Process. 

Deposit. — A body, or substance precipitated, or 
thrown down from a solution by decomposition. See Pre- 
cipitation. 

Derrick.— See Cranes. 

Diagonal.— A straight line joining two angles, not 
adjacent, of a rectilinear figure. 

Diameter. — A line, which passing through the centre 
of a circle or other curvilinear figure, divides it or its 
ordinates in two equal parts. Also, the length of a straight 
line through the centre of an object, from side to side, as 
the diameter of a cylinder, fly-wheel, etc. 

Diamond. — The purest form of carbon known. It 
is a crystal of the greatest purity and hardness known. 
Several localities in India, the island of Borneo, and 
Brazil furnish this beautiful substance. Diamonds possess 
a very high refractive and dispersive power, by which they 
flash the most varied and vivid colors of light. The dia- 
mond is a non-conductor of electricity, and resists the 
action of all known chemical substances. It is infusible 
and unalterable even by a very intense heat if air be ex- 
cluded ; but when burned in oxygen gas, the combination 
forms carbonic acid gas, hence its composition is pure car- 
bon. Heated to whiteness in a vessel of oxygen it readily 
burns, yielding carbonic-acid gas; hence its composition is 
pure carbon (specific gravity, 3.5). A diamond is of the 
prst water when perfectly colorless. 



Diamond. 1^4 Dipping. 

Artificial diamonds are made from a paste composed of 
pure silica 100, red oxide of lead 150, calcined potash 29, 
calcined borax 11, arsenious acid 1. This composition 
fuses at a moderate heat, and if the alkali is expelled by 
the continued fusion it acqui]-es great brilliancy. SeePKE- 
cious Stones; Oarbok. 

Diamond and Brilliant Imitations, — To 

make metal imitations of these precious stones, procure a 
glass rod and grind the end to the form of whatever it is 
intended to imitate. Dip the ground end of the rod into 
rejiector metal, which has been previously freed from scum; 
the metal will adhere to the ground surface and form a 
hollow cap of extreme brilliancy which answers to the 
design ground on the end of the rod. See Keflector 
Metal. 

Dies, To harden. — In order to produce an equal 
degree of hardness throughout the entire surface of a die, 
it has been found best to let fall a copious stream of water 
from a reservoir placed above, directly upon the centre of 
the die. This is a superior method to direct immersion, 
as the rapid formation of steam at the sides of the die, 
consequent on the later mode, prevents free access of the 
water for removing the heat with the expedition requisite 
for obtaining a hard surface at the centre. See Temper- 
ing; Stamping. 

Dii>i)ing. — A process by which a bright surface is im- 
parted to the alloy or metal after it has undergone the 
process of pickling, scouring, and washing. Dipping con- 
sists of immersing the article in pure nitrous acid for a 
moment, but no iron or wood implements are to be used. 
Brass tongs are best for this purpose, and the vessels should 
be earthenware. 



Distillation. 145 Double-hook. 

If the work appears coarse and spotted after dipping, the 
dip must be repaired by adding sulphuric acid; should it 
be too smooth after it has been dipped, add muriatic acid 
and nitric till it shows the right appearance. Dips should 
be kept stirred, and not allowed to settle whilst using. 
See STAii^iNG Metals; Pickling; Ormolu DiPPii^G 
acid; Quick Dipping-acid; Lacquering. 

Distillation. — Is vaporizing a liquid by heat in one 
vessel, and condensing it by cold in another; the object 
being to separate a liquid from non-volatile substances dis- 
solved in it, as in distilliug water to purify it from foreign 
matter, or to disunite two liquids which evaporate at differ- 
ent temperatures, as water and alcohol. 

Dog". — A double-ended hold-fast, made by pointing the 
turned ends of an ordinary wrought-iron clamp. Useful 
for drawing the halves of core-boxes together, and numer- 
ous other purposes in the foundry. 

Dolomite. — Magnesian limestone, a mineral consist- 
ing of carbonate of lime and carbonate of magnesia in 
somewhat varied proportions, the former usually prepon- 
derating with about 20 per cent carbonate of iron. See 
Basic-process; Limestone. 

Double-hook. — Sometimes termed a change-liooh 
and ram's-liorn. The latter name is suggestive of its shape, 
which consist of two hooks, turned outwards, forged to a 
third one immediately underneath, which is central and 
turned at right angles to the double hooks above. 

It is used for passing loads that are slung on the lower 
hook, from one crane to another, by simply inserting the 
block-hook of another crane into the idle-hook and hoisting 
until it is lifted free of the other. 



Down-gate. 146 Draw-back. 

Down-gate, or " down-runner" sometimes termed 
an "upright/' is the runner immediately connected with 
the runner basin, and leads to the casting direct, or by 
means of draw-gates, etc. See DRAW-RUi^NER; Upright- 
RUNi^ER; Gates. 

Draft. — An allowance of taper on a pattern, or the 
parting of a joint ; the object being to obtain a free separa- 
tion of mould and pattern-surfaces which, if left straight, 
would ceate friction and cause damage to the mould. See 
Taper. 

Drag. — The bottom, or newel -part of a flask. See 
Flasks. 

Drain. — A hole sunk beneath a mould in the pit when 
there is danger of water accumulating there. A well can 
be sunk some distance away, into which the water will flow, 
to be expelled by means of a pump. Cinder-beds may be 
made to answer as drains by laying them on a slant and 
providing a well at their lowest point for the water to 
collect in. See Cinder-bed. 

Dram is the same as drachm. The avoirdupois dram 
is equivalent to 27^ J grains troy; the apothecaries' dram is 
equivalent to 60 grains troy. 

Draw. — A term synonymous with shrink, and used by 
some to express certain conditions connected with the phe- 
nomenon of shrinkage. Holes or depressions caused by 
natural shrinkage are often called " drawn " places. See 
Shrinkage; Feeding; Sinking-head. 

Draw-lback. — A portion of mould, which owing to 
some peculiarity of form in the pattern^ or because of some 



Drawback Plate. 147 Drawing- down. 

difficulty presented in closing or finishing the mould, must 
be slided back or lifted away altogether. When this occurs 
in moulds that are made entirely in flasks, some portion, or 
all of a cheek-part, is made to answer by attaching inside 
bars, or a connected bottom-plate to carry the sand. But, 
when the mould is all contained in the floor, a plate with 
lifting-handles is cast, on which to carry away the desired 
part. The plate is termed a drawback plate. See Cheek; 
False Core. 

Drawback Plate.— See Drawback. 

Draw-gates are so called because they are set be- 
tween the pattern and a do20)i-gate, a slight taper per- 
mitting of their being withdrawn either towards the mould 
or in the opposite direction, whichever is the most con- 
venient. See Gates; Dowk-gate. 

Draw -hooks is a simple iron or steel hook for 
drawing or lifting patterns from the sand. Ordinarily, 
a common eye at the opposite end answers for lifting by, 
but an excellent combination of steel hook and raw hide 
mallet may now be obtained; also a steel hook provided 
with a spherical head of hard rubber, both of which afford 
a handy means for rapping small patterns as well as draw- 
ing them. 

DraTving Air. — A common but incorrect term for 
the violent commotion occurring at the down-gate, when, 
because of the too limited area of basin-runner, where it 
connects with the down-gate, there is not a sufficient body 
of metal to keep it full, and thus check the escape of ex- 
panded air from the mould. See Down-gate. 

Drawing-down. — When the cope part of a casting 
shows an unevenly buckled surface, with shell-scabs in 



Dresser. 148 Drill. 

parts, it is technically spoken of as '^ drawn-down/' or 
"drawn-in." Although this phenomenon is not unknown 
in loam and dry-sand work, it is chiefly in green-sand 
copes that it occurs. Very damp copes with no vents are 
apt to be drawn down as above described, because of the 
rapid generation of steam, which can find no other means 
of escape. Especially is this the case when the mould is 
long in filling. 

Sand with too much clay is always liable to buckle if sub- 
jected to a long-continued heat, as the skin dries-into a 
cake, expands, and buckles, sometimes falling off in flakes 
before the mould is full. 

Silica, or fire-sand, comparatively free from lime, brought 
up to the requisite degree of consistency by a slight ad- 
mixture of clay, will invariably hold together under the 
severest trials, if well vented with a small wire, in order to 
lead the steam, from the surface to the outside. In impor- 
tant cases it is a wise precaution to cover the cope-vents 
with loose sand. Vents, if left uncovered, permit a too 
free escape of air from the mould, and the cope surface is 
to that extent robbed of such support as the compressed 
air within gives to it. See Vesting. 

Dresser. — A local term for a cleaner or cliipper of 
castings ; usually it means a man that can perform both 
operations. See Chipper; Cleaner. 

Dressing". — The preparatory finishing and fashioning 
which a loam-mould receives before the final blackening 
takes place. The mould is moistened with water, dressed 
with chinsing -sticks, and finished with the requisite tools 
See Finishing. 

Drill. — A tool provided for boring vents and gates 
through hard dry sand and loam. An ordinary brace and 



Drop. 149 Dry sand Facing. 

bit, or an ancient bow- drill, are suitable tools for this pur- 
pose; the latter making a very efficient one. 

Drop. — When a portion of mould falls from an over- 
hanging surface, it is spoken of as a " drop/^ 

DroiJ-g^ates are gates which connect with the cast- 
ing from the runner basin vertically. They may be so 
placed for mere convenience, or with the view of obtaining 
a clean casting by constructing a basin above that may be 
instantly filled with metal, and thus allow the casting to fill 
from the bottom, with no possibility of dirt entering the 
mould. See Gates; VE^^Tii^G. 

Drying-kettles. — Perforated iron pans for drying 
moulds with. Another description of kettles for drying 
pan-copes that are struck in casings, and other similar pur- 
poses, is readily made by connecting two cast rings with 
vertical rods and crossing the bottom ring with loose bars. 
Instead of a ring for the bottom, a whole grate may be 
cast, if preferred in that manner. See Lamp; Lantern. 

Drying-stove.— See Oven. 

Dry-sand Facing. — Sand prepared exclusively for 
facing the surface of a dry-sand mould. Whilst there are, 
no doubt, many good mixtures for this purpose, the fol- 
lowing will always be found reliable and trustworthy, as it 
works well in finishing, requires little or no venting, may 
be rammed very hard, and will not be seriously affected, so 
far as the mould is concerned, if it should not be thor- 
oughly dry. Silicious or fire sand 8, moulding-sand 2, 
flour 1. Let the above ingredients be prepared medium 
dry, and mix for using with clay- water. The sands men- 
tioned should be equivalent to the Jersey grades. See 
Facing-sand; Facing. 



Dry-sand Moulding. 150 Dumb-vent. 

Dry-sand Moulding. — The art of preparing dried 
moulds, either in flasks, to be subsequently dried in the 
oven, or in the floor, when the drying must then be ac- 
complished by suitably improvised means before casting. 
Moulding in dry-sand admits of exceedingly large and in- 
tricate castings being made with much less risk than in 
green-sand. Moulds rammed in flasks may, when dry, be 
placed in any desired position for casting, without any 
possibility of damage; hence cylinders and all similar 
castings are moulded in dry-sand, and placed in a vertical 
position for pouring. 

Dry-sand facing is used on the surface, but the flasks 
may be rammed with common sand off the floor. Usually 
the moulds are blackened and finished whilst green, and 
subsequently dried, closed, and cast. See Dry-san"d 
Facing; Green^-saj^d Mouldiis^g; Loam-moulding. 

Ductility. — That property or texture of bodies which 
renders it practicable to draw them out in length while 
their thickness is diminished without any actual fracture 
of their parts, as drawing into wire. Gold is the most 
ductile of the metals, after which, in their order of value, 
as follows: silver, platinum, iron, copper, zinc, tin, lead, 
nickel, palladium, cadmium. See Metals; Malleability; 
Strength of Materials. 

Dulled -brass. — The dead appearance, by the French 
styled ^^7nat," is obtained on brass by observing the follow- 
ing: Immerse in nitric acid 200, sulphuric acid (sp. gr. 
1.845) 100, salt 1, sulphate of zinc 2. Very large objects 
should have a mixture of nitric acid 3, sulphuric acid 1, 
water 1, sulphate of zinc ^. Repeat the dipping and well- 
rinsing till the desired color is imparted. See Dipping. 

Dvimb-vent. — A vent from a hollow core led to some 
distance by means of an underground flue, where there will 



I 



Dummy-block. 151 Earths. 

be no possibility of sparks igniting the gas and causing an 
explosion. See Ventiistg. 

Dummy-block. — A brick and loam model abound 
which to form a jacket or other core by means of the 
spindle and sweep-board, the latter being the means for 
forming the dummy-block also. When the core has been 
dried the block is picked out piecemeal, leaving the jacket- 
core standing; hence the name. See Jacket-core. 

Dump. — A name given to the dirt or foundry waste- 
heap. 

Dusting-bag. — A blacking-bag. See Blacking- 
bag. 

Dyeing-metals. — See Stains for Metals. 



E. 

Earths. — The solid matters of the earth, including 
rocks, etc., are composed principally of combustible ele- 
ments, as aluminum, potassium, magnesium, calcium, 
and carbon, in combination with oxygen. The fact of the 
rarity of these metals in a free state is due to their extreme 
combustibility. The earths proper do not change vegetable 
colors; in acids they are soluble, and may be subsequently 
precipitated from their solutions by potash, soda, or am- 
monia. The alkaline earths, as barytes, strontia, lime, 
etc., are soluble in water, and have the property of neutral- 
izing the strongest acids, and changing vegetable colors 
in general. The mineral elements composing the chief 
mass of soils are derived from the breaking-up of the 
various rocks by the action of heat, frost, air, and moisture. 
According to the composition of tlie rocks so will the soil 



Earthenware. 152 EiFervescence. 

be that is derived from them : clayey when from argillace- 
ous rocks, calcerons from lime, and sandy from siliceous 
rocks, besides which must be included organic substances, 
a portion of liberated alkalies and alkaline earths, etc. See 
Alkali. 

Earthenware.— See Pottery - moulding ; Porce- 
lain. 

Ebullition. — When water is heated bubbles of vapor 
form at the bottom, rise to the cooler water above, and are 
condensed. As the heat continues, however, these bubbles 
reach the surface and escape into the air, causing the agi- 
tation called boiling or ebullition. The boiling-point of a 
liquid is determined by the temperature at which ebulli- 
tion takes place. Water boils at 212°, sulphuric ether at 
96°, alcohol at 176°, oil of turpentine at 316°, sulphuric 
acic at 620°, mercury at 662°. 

Eccentric-clamp.— An arrangement for lifting fin- 
ished stonework, which might be made useful in the foun- 
dry for lifting cores of some descriptions, and thus obviate 
the necessity for hooks and staples. The weight of the 
object turns eccentrics, which bind rubber-faced plates 
firmly against the sides. The width is adjusted by turn- 
buckles at the sides. 

Edge - smoother. — A moulder's tool for finishing 
angles. The two sides of this smoother, acting together, 
bring the edge up sharp and true. | 

Effervescence. — The commotion produced in fluids 
by some part of the mass suddenly taking the elastic form 
and escaping rapidly in numerous bubbles. 



Elastic Gum. 153 Electro-plating. 

Elastic Gum.— See India-rubber. 

Elasticity, or spring, is a property of bodies to re- 
sume their original form, immediately the force by which 
they may have been deflected from it is removed. 

Elastic Moulds. — These moulds are for the pur- 
pose of obtaining casts, in plaster or wax, from medals and 
other objects liaving parts that are undercut. The moulds 
are made by surrounding the object with a barrier of clay 
as high as tlie thickness of mould required, and, after oil- 
ing the surface, filling the space with melted glue, which, 
when cold, can if necessary be cut in suitable pieces for 
delivering smoothly. The pieces, when put together again, 
form the mould in which to run the plaster or wax. If 
the undercutting is not too deep, these moulds will yield 
sufficient to admit of ordinary flat casts being taken whole, 
without cutting. See Plaster-casts; Undercut. 

Electric Crane. — A substitution of the dynamo- 
electric macliine for the steam or other methods usually 
employed for the purpose of working cranes. These cranes 
have met with almost universal favor, and are a marvel- 
lous improvement on some antiquated specimens which 
have been removed to allow of their introduction. They 
are eminently adapted for foundry purposes. See Cranes. 

Electric Furnace. — The Siemens Electric Furnace 
is used for melting metals that are of a highly refractory 
nature, using a guarded crucible. It is compact, needs no 
chimney, is more economical, and melts more rapidly, be- 
sides excluding air from the crucible. 

Electro ■ plating. — The process of covering one 
metal with a thin film of another by the aid of electricity. 
See Plating. 



Electrotype. 



154 



Elements. 



Electrotype. — A cast of metal upon a mould by gal- 
vanic action. A wax impression of the type or engraving 
is coated with black lead, washed with solution of sulphate 
of copper, and dusted with iron-filings, which leaves a film 
of copper on the surface, after which it is suspended in a 
bath of : sulphate of copper 2, sulphuric acid 1, water to 
stand it at 140° Beaume, and connected with the negative 
electrode of a battery. The sulphate of copper is decom- 
posed when the circuit is closed, the metallic copper going 
to the negative plate, which is the plumbago-mould. 

The deposit or shell is afterwards hacked with molten 
type-metal. See Stereotype; Type. 

Elements. — Modern science considers matter as exist- 
ing in four forms — imponderable, gaseous, liquid, and solid; 
while by elements are understood the simple component 
ingredients of bodies under whatever form they are recog- 
nized by the chemists. The number of these elements is 
about 64, some of which have been known from ancient 
times — gold, silver, copper, tin, lead, iron, and mercury in 
particular; others are of more recent date. The elements 
are divided into two classes, the metallic and non-metallic 
— the former numbering 52, the latter 13. Below is given a 
table of the elementary substances now known, in alpha- 
betical order: 





METALLIC. 




Aluminum 


Cerium 


Gold 


Manganese 


Antimony 


Chromium 


Indium 


Mercury 


Arsenic 


Cobalt 


Iridium 


Molybdenum 


Barium 


Copper 


Iron 


Nickel 


Bismuth 


Didymium 


Lanthanum 


Niobium 


Cadmium 


Erbium 


Lead 


Osmium 


Caesium 


Gallium 


Lithium 


Palladium 


Calcium 


Glucinum 


Magnesium 


Platinum 



Elevatoi^. 



155 



Embroidery Impressions. 



Potassium 


KSodium 


Thorium 


Vanadium 


Rhodium 


Strontium 


Tin 


Yttrium 


Rubidium 


Tantalum 


Titanium 


Zinc 


Ruthenium 


Tellurium 


Tungsten 


Zirconium 


Silver 


Thallium 


Uranium 






NON-METALLIC. 




Boron 


Fluorine 


Nitrogen 


Selenium 


Bromine 


Hydrogen 


Oxygen 


Silicon 


Carbon 


Iodine 


Phosphorus 


Sulphur 


Chlorine 









Four of these elements — chlorine, hydrogen, nitrogen, and 
oxygen — are gases, and fluorine is probably a gas also. Two 
are liquids at ordinary atmospheric temperatures, viz., mer- 
cury and bromine. The element gallium recently found 
in certain zinc ores is also said to be a liquid, the remain- 
ing elements are all solids. A description of the chief ele- 
ments will be found in their respective order throughout 
this work. See Metals. 

Elevator. — A mechanical contrivance for lifting sand, 
coal, ores, grain, etc., from the flooi", or from prepared 
boxes, to a higher elevation to be thei-e deposited by means 
of strong belts carrying a series of buckets travelling over 
drums placed at each end of the distance travelled; lifting 
the material at the bottom turn, and depositing at the top. 
See Hoist; Conveyer. 



Embroidery Impressions on Cast Iron.— Im- 
pressions of lace embroidery and similar objects can be pro- 
duced by following the instructions given by ]\Ir. Outerbridge 
in a paper read at a meeting of the Franklin Institute, 
which is substantially as follows: First, carefully imbed the 
object to be operated upon in charcoal-dust confined in a 
cast-iron box. After securing the lid heat slowly in the 



Emerald. 156 Emery- wheel. 

oven, and when the moisture has all escaped increase the 
heat until the blue smoke escaping from the box ceases. 
The box is then heated up to a white heat and so kept for 
two hours, and then allowed to cool. By holding the ob- 
ject in a gas-flame it will be discovered whether it has been 
thoroughly carbonized or not; if the operation has been 
successful it will not glow when removed from the flame. 
The object, after thorough carbonization, is secured to a 
green-sand surface, and the metal cast over in the ordinary 
manner. If care is exercised, a number of impressions 
may be taken from the same substance. See Hand-writ- 
iKG Impressions in Cast Iron. 

Emerald is cut and polished for the best jewelry ; it 
is known fi-om beryl by its deeper and richer green. The 
finest of these stones come from the neighborhood of Peru. 
Emerald fuses with difficulty into a porous glass. Its com- 
position is: silex 64.5, glucine 13, alumina 16, lime 1.6, 
oxide of chrome 3.25 ; specific gravity, 2. 70. See Beryl ; 
Precious Stones. 

Emery is an impure kind of corundum, gray to dark- 
brown in color. Most of this substance is artificially colored 
a dark, rich brown for commerce, and for all common pur- 
poses, as emery-cloth, is usually adulterated with iron-slag, 
garnet, etc. It is opaque, of slightly glistening metallic 
lustre; hardness equal to corundum, and of about the same 
specific gravity and composition as the latter. Even the 
sapphire and oriental ruby, the hardest substances next 
to the diamond, can be cut and polished with emery. See 
Corundum; Precious Stones. 

Emery-wheel. — A disk of corundum, or emery com- 
position, keyed to a mandrel and rotated by a pulley and 
belt ; used principally for grinding and polishing metals. 
See Corundum : Emery. 



Enamel. 157 Evaporation. 

Enamel. — A shining, vitrified substance employed as 
an indestructible coating to various articles of taste and 
utility. The basis of all enamels is a perfectly transparent 
and fusible glass, which is subsequently rendered either 
semi-transparent or opaque by admixture with metallic 
oxides. 

Eiig^iiie for Blower. — It is always best to have the 
blower driven by an independent engine, as by this arrange- 
ment the annoyance and consequent loss caused by the 
breaking-down of any portion of the driving machinery 
which is common for all purposes is saved, and as these an- 
noyances generally occur when the blast is in full swing the 
value of an independent engine is wonderfully enhanced. 
An experimental knowdedge of the above facts has resulted 
in the production of a blower and engine combined, which 
machine is becoming more popular every day. See Blast; 
Blower ; Cupola. 

Entablature is that part of an architectural design 
which surmounts the columns and rests upon the capitals. 
In this sense the term is applied by engineers to similar 
parts of machinery-framing wherein such designs are in- 
truded. 

Equipment. — General appliances, tools, and ma- 
chinery necessary for conducting a foundry or other manu- 
facturing establishment. 

Evaporation generally signifies the dissipation of the 
volatile parts of a compound body. Natural evaporation 
is the conversion of water into vapor, which, in consequence 
of becoming lighter than the atmosphere, is raised consid- 
erably above the earth, and afterwards, by a partial con- 
densation, forms clouds. See Vapor, 



Exhaust Tumbling-barrels. 158 Expanding Alloy. 

Exliavist Tumbling-barrels. — The advantages of 
this useful adjunct to foundry operations is thus described : 
Not alone does this machine do away with the horrible 
clatter and din in the milling-room, but it also keeps the 
room clear of dust, besides accomplishing an actual saving 
of twenty-five per cent in time in cleaning the castings. 

The staves of the machine are made of two-inch well- 
seasoned oak timber, lined with hard steel plates. Each 
stave is so bolted that, no matter where the machine 
stops, the staves can be taken out and replaced without 
trouble. As soon as the sand is loosened from the castings 
and is pulverized sufficiently fine for the exhaust to lift it, 
it is immediately carried away to a box or receptacle which 
may be placed at any point in or out of the mill-room. 
This taking away the dust is where the saving of time in 
cleaning is accomplished. 

These barrels are substantially made and nicely finished, 
and have a very attractive appearance. The barrels are 
operated by belt to the first one, and the rest are run by 
friction bearings. As many barrels as are needed can be 
placed side by side and operated by the same belt. Any 
one barrel can be stopped or started at will by turning a 
wheel- handle which raises or lowers the barrels from con- 
tact with the friction wheel. They are the most complete, 
easiest-running, most noiseless, cleanest, and most satisfac- 
tory tumbling-barrels that can be made. 

The foundry-supply companies furnish these machines 
either octagon or square shaped, as well as exhaust-fan for 
carrying away the dust. See Tumbling-bahrel. 

Expanding Alloy. — Lead 9, antimony 2, bismuth 
1. This alloy is useful to fill holes in castings, as it does 
not contract and become loose like lead or cast iron. 
What are termed expanding alloys invariably contain bis- 



Expansion. 159 Eye-bar. 

mutli and antimony in some proportion. This special 
quality lias rendered these metals valuable for type-metal 
composition, etc. See Bismuth; A^TiMOiq^Y; Type- 
metal. 

Expansion is the enlargement or increase of bulk in 
substances, chiefly by means of heat. This is one of the 
most general effects of heat and is common to all bodies 
whether solid, fluid, or in the aeriform state. Expansion 
by heat varies greatly. The following table gives the linear 
expansions of several useful metals from 0° to 100° C, the 
length at 0° being taken as unity: 

Metal Expansion 

metal. ^o ^^ j^qo 

Platinum, cast 000907 

Gold, cast 001451 

Silver, cast 001936 

Copper 001708 

Iron 001228 

Cast steel 001110 

Bismuth 001374 

Tin 002269 

Lead 002948 

Zinc 002905 

Cadmium 003102 

Aluminum 002336 

Brass (copper 7•^, zinc 28) 001879 

Bronze (copper 86, tin 10, zinc 4) 001802 

i See Contraction; Shrinkage. 

Exi)losion. — A sudden and violent expansion of an 
aerial or other elastic fluid, by which its parts are separated 
with a loud noise. See Venting. 

Eye-l>ar. — A common chisel or pointed bar with an 



Eye-bolt. 1^^ Facing. 

eye forged at the opposite end — a useful implement in a 
foundry. 

Eye-bolt is an ordinary bolt with a round or oval eye 
at one end to receive a hook, rope, or chain. Bolts of this 
class may be put to an infinite variety of uses in the foun- 
dry, if general arrangements for lifting cores, flasks, etc. , 
are made favorable to their adoption. A welded ring in 
the eye changes it into a ring-bolt. 

Eye-piece. — A circular disk of iron containi::g a cen- 
tral sheet of mica, usually placed opposite to each tuyere, 
on the wind-box of the cupola; its object being to permit 
a view of the inside through the transparent mica. It 
works on a pivot, so that if necessary it may be moved 
aside and access had to the inside of the cupola if it is 
desired to remove any accumulated slag from the tuyere. 
See Cupola; Slag; Tuyeee; Wind-box. 

F. 

Facets. — The flat surfaces which bound the angles of 
crystals. See Crystallization. 

Facia. — A broad, flat, projecting part of a building, as 
the bands of an architrave, larmier, etc. 

Facing. — Foundry facing, employed for intimately 
mixing with the facing-sand, or spreading upon the sur- 
face of moulds, to prevent the molten metal from penetrat- 
ing the sand, as well as to impart a smooth, fine skin 
to the surface of the casting. When properly used it is 
an unmistakably good help in making smooth and clean 
castings, profitable alike to the moulder and the employer. 
Facings are composed of finely ground and bolted fire- 
proof substances, principally carbon, as charred wood, 



Facing-sand. 161 Facing sand. 

coal, grai^hite, etc. They are now so well understood by 
the manufacturers that, by making application and stating 
for what description of casting it is to be used, founders 
can be supplied with a facing exactly suitable. See 
BLACKii^G-BAG; Sea-coal; Graphite; Facij^g-sand. 

Faciiig'-santl is the sand used for facing or covering 
the surface of the mould, and necessarily that with which 
the metal is brought into immediate contact when the cast- 
ing is poured. Sand for this ^Htrpose should possess prop- 
erties that will enable it to resist pressure and heat from 
the molten metal as well as permit free and uninterrupted 
egress to the gases which are generated. Hitherto this 
subject has been left to mere chance, trying first one sand 
and then another, with the usual loss and disa23pointment 
which attend such methods, until the right substance has 
at last been found. It is now positively known just what 
sand will give a clean casting, free from adhering sand. 
To be a positively good moulding-sand it must contain no 
substance that will act chemically upon the molten metal, 
nor should the high temperature of the metal affect it 
adversely. The difficulty in meeting these conditions is 
apparent when we consider that the higher the tempera- 
ture of molten metal the fewer become the substances that 
will successfully resist it. Three per cent of metallic ox- 
ides in sand seriously diminishes its refractory qualities, 
and one per cent of lime present measurably lessens its 
value as a good moulding-sand, as the carbonate is acted 
upon by the intense heat and caused to give off carbonic- 
acid gas, which disturbs the surface of the mould during 
its escape, causing honeycombed and rough surfaces on 
the castings. 

Should caustic lime be present, its fluxing properties will 
manifest themselves by melting into the form of a slag and 
adhering to the surface of the casting. 



Faint-run. 162 Falling-doors. 

Sands wliicli contain the largest proportion of silica, 
from one to three per cent of magnesia, with as much alu- 
mina as will impart cohesiveness and plasticity, are under 
almost all circumstances the best for facing-sand. Lime 
should not be present in even the smallest proportion. It 
is seldom that saud with the above proportions can be 
found in nature, but a chemical knowledge of tliese mat- 
ters enables us to choose such grades as will, by suitable 
admixture and blending of two or more kinds, produce a 
mixture containing known proportions of the elements 
necessary for meeting all emergencies. 

Facing-sand is termed strong or weak according to the 
amount of alumina or clay which enters into its composi- 
tion; and the same term is applied with reference to a high 
or low percentage of coal used in the mixture. See Anal- 
ysis; Vej^tikg; Dry-sand Facing; Old-sand; Rock- 
sand. 

Faint-run. — The opposite of sharp and clearly-de- 
fined impressions on the casting. When fine carving, trac- 
ing, and other outlines on a casting are blurred, presenting 
shining, imperfect edges and cold-shot marks, the casting 
is pronounced as faint-run. Some of the chief causes for 
this are unequal distribution of the runners, a too free use 
of carbon faci^ig, wet or hard sand, dull metal, lack of 
porosity in the sand, or perhaps a combination of two or 
more of the causes mentioned, all of which it is the easiest 
matter conceivable to avoid when the intelligence is made 
equal to the exigency. See Cold-shot; Venting. 

Falling-doors.— Hinged doors attached to the un- 
derside of a cupola, which, when the metal has all run out, 
may be suddenly dropped, permitting the slag and cinders 
to fall out into the pit below. See Cupola, 



False-core. 163 Feeding -head. 

False-core. — A technical term used chiefly by mould- 
ers of fine art work, statuary, etc., meaning loose pieces of 
mould, or draiuhacksj that must be formed at the under- 
cut portions of a model or pattern. 

These false-cores are rammed carefully in their several 
places, and separating joints formed on their exterior sur- 
faces, the impression of which being taken in the main sec- 
tion, or cheek of the mould, forms a seating into which they 
are subsequently fitted and secured, when they are with- 
drawn from the model. See Drawback ; Statuary- 
foui^ding; Modelling; Plaster-cast; Under-cut. 

Fan. — A rotative blowing-machine, consisting of vanes 
turning upon an axis, to force a current of air into a fur- 
nace or for the purpose of exhausting. See Bloaver ; 
Blast. 

Fats and Fatty Acids. — See Oils. 

Feeding". — The process of supplying hot fluid metal 
to the interior of a casting, to compensate for the gradual 
shrinkage as it passes from a fluid to a solid state. The 
head, occupying an elevated position, imparts pressure; the 
feeding-rod, being kept hot, serves to maintain communica- 
tion with the interior by preserving a passage through 
which the molten metal is forced by reason of the pressure 
exerted a't the feeding-head above, where the supply is kept 
constant until the mass has solidified. This process is by 
some improperly termed clutrning. See Feeding-head; 
Feeding-rod; Eiser; Shrinkage. 

Feeding-liead. — In some localities this is called 
slirink-Uead and sinking-head. It is a continuation of 
the rising-head to some distance higher than the latter 
is usually made, and is generally formed of sand within an 



Feeding-rod. 104 Ferro manganese. 

iron box. If the proportion of feeding-head be equal to 
the casting, the latter will be effectually fed with metal 
sufficient to make good the depreciation from shrinkage; 
but if the riser must necessarily be much smaller, propor- 
tionately, than the casting, it will congeal, or set, ahead of 
the latter with the result of unsoundness, if the feeding-rod 
is not resorted to. See Feeding; Feeding-rod. 

Feeding-rod. — A wrought-iron rod, from i to | inch 
diameter and of a suitable length, for use in keeping open 
the communication betwixt riser and casting. When it is 
necessary to feed castings, these rods should be kept clean 
and hot, occasionally changing the one in use for a clean 
one that has been previously heated. By this means the 
hole can be kept free until the casting has completed its 
shrinkage; otherwise the hole congeals prematurely, and 
the casting suffers in consequence. See Feeding. 

Feldspar. — Feldspar is a principal constituent of 
many rocks. Clays seem, very generally, to have resulted, 
at least in great part, from its decomposition. Kaolin, or 
China clay, is considered to be decomposed feldspar. See 
Kaolin; Rocks. 

Fenton's Anti-friction Metal. — Grain-tin 8, 
purified zinc 7, antimony 1. Another: copper 10, tin 10, 
zinc 10. See Anti-friction Metal. 

Fern-leaf Impressions in Cast Iron.— See 

Embroidery Impressions in Cast Iron. 

Ferro-nianganese.— Pig-iron containing from 25 
to 75 per cent of manganese, employed extensively in the 
manufacture of mild steel by the Siemens, Bessemer, and 
crucible methods. See Manganese ; Spiegeleisen ; 
Open-hearth Steel. 



rettlei*. 165 Fin. 

Fettler. — A local name for a chipper or cleaner. See 
Dresser. 

Fettling". — A puddler's term for prejiaring the pud- 
dling-furnace hearth with a mixture composed chiefly of old 
furnace-bottoms, crushed and mixed with tap-cinder and 
scales. See Mill-cinder ; Malleable Iron ; Puddle- 
steel. 

File-cleaner. — A piece of wire card, 6 by 4 inches, 
nailed to a piece of wood is a good file-cleaner. Such a con- 
trivance is also a much better rasp for soft cores than files. 
This card may be procured from an old carding-engine in 
the cotton-factories. 

Fillet. — A rounded corner on a monld. There is less 
danger of shrinkage flaws when corners are filleted. Flex- 
ible metallic filleting, any size required, may be obtained at 
a nominal figure, so that no pattern need be left Avithout. 
When fillets are left to be carved off by the moulder it 
costs twice the amount for labor, and, unless the operation 
is performed by a good mechanic, the result is invariably a 
botched job. 

Filling in. — Setting the inside courses of bricks by 
the loam-moulder. In heavy walling and solid cores the 
faces or outer courses are built strong, but the filling-in 
courses are set wide apart and the spaces filled with fine 
cinders to lead away the gases. This is a very common 
term in a foundry. Placing sand inside a flask or any other 
receptacle, as a riddle, sieve, etc., is usually called filling 
in. See Bricking up. 

Fin. — Metal that flows past the casting in a thin ridge 
at the joining edges of a mould. In some cases the edges 
are purposely pared down to prevent any possibility of the 



Fine art Mouldign. 166 Finger-piec^. 

two edges meeting. Especially is this rule to be observed 
in loam and dry-sand work, where in the event of too 
close contact the mould is damaged by a crushed joint. 
The term crush is common when any part of a mould is 
damaged by undue pressure, etc. 

Fine-art Moulding. — This branch includes mould- 
ing of statuary, groups, figures, busts, etc., in bronze by 
the cire perdue and other processes common to the art, 
besides the general work connected with clay and wax 
modelling, taking plaster and wax casts, etc. See Model- 
ling ; Plaster-cast ; Statuary-founding. 

Finery-furnace — also called a refinery — consists 
of a rectangular hearth formed by the junction of four 
troughs, through which cold water circulates to prevent 
them from fusing. A bottom is formed within the troughs 
with prepared sand, with a droop towards the tap-hole. 
The blast enters the hearth through tuyeres which incline 
at an angle of about 28°. Above the hearth is a chimney 
about 1? feet high, built on four pillars in order that the 
air may have free access to the fire on all sides. The tap- 
hole is at the lower end of the hearth, and through it the 
metal and slag run out on plates, where it is at once cooled 
by copious streams of water. This sudden cooling of the 
molten mass causes the carbon to combine chemically and 
produces a silvery-white metal. This is the preliminary 
process before puddling the iron in the reverberatory fur- 
nace. See Malleable Iron ; Puddling-furnace. 

Finger-piece. — A tongue or narrow strip attached 
to the sweep-board by the loam-moulder, when he forms a 
perfectly true loam-bed on the brickwork, on which to rest 
a bracket or any other piece of pattern which is to form a 
part of the finished casting. The moulder marks his true 



Finishing. 167 Fire-clay. 

depth by means of a square held against the spindle ; and 
the finger-piece may then be screwed fast and true to the 
line. 

This is very superior practice to the common one of at- 
tempting to bed such work on soft loam, as, after the bed 
has been struck, it may be made firm almost immediately 
with a charcoal fire in an old riddle or lamp. See Loam- 
moulding ; Spindle ; Sweep ; Lamp. 

Fiiiisliiiig'. — This term refers generally to all the pro- 
cesses connected with preparing a mould for casting after 
the pattern has been withdrawn ; but especially to manipu- 
lations with the regular moulder^s tools, such as smoothing 
over the blackening after it has been brushed or swabbed 
over dry-sand and loam moulds. See Dressing ; Loam- 
moulding. 

Fiiiishiiig-loain.— See Skinning-loam. 

Finisliiiig-rolls. — See Malleable Iron ; Rolls. 

Fire-brick. — A brick made of fire-clay, and other re- 
fractory materials for use in cupolas and other furnaces, and 
for that reason must be capable of sustaining intense heat 
without fusing. See Refractory Materials; Fire-clay. 

Fire-bridge. — A hollow cast frame, encased in fire- 
brick, which is built between the hearth and the grate of 
a reverberatory furnace. See Reverberatory Furnace. 

Fire-clay is the kind of clay which, when mixed with 
other refractory ingredients, is used for the manufacture 
of fire-bricks, crucibles, glass pots, retorts, etc., which re- 
quire to withstand intense heat. It is found abundantly 
near the surface of the ground, but chiefly in the coal 
measures. Fire-clay to be of value should be comparatively 



Fire-sand. 168 Flange-smoother, 

free from ferrous oxide (or combination of iron with 
oxygen), calcium carbonate (or substances sucli as limestone, 
chalk, marble, etc.), and iron pyrites, because at very high 
temperatures these bodies would combine with the silica of 
the clay with the formation of fusible vitreous silicates. 
See Eefeactoey Material. 

Fire-sand is the name given to all foundry sands that 
are composed principally of coarse grains of quartz, inter- 
mixed with more or less alumina or clayey sand. Because 
of the highly refractory nature of tliese siliceous sands they 
are usually termed " fire-sands.^' See Facing-sakp ; Re- 
fractory Material. 

Flame is the luminous phenomenon produced by the 
combustion of gases and is, hence, fire in motion. Sub- 
stances which burn with flame are either gases already or 
they contain a gas which is set free by the heat of combus- 
tion. But flame does not necessarily produce light. In 
the burning of pure oxygen and hydrogen there is intense 
flame, but the light is so weak that it can scarcely be seen. 
If we sift a little charcoal-dust into this non-luminous 
flame, the particles of solid carbon are instantly heated to 
incandescence, a bright flash of light resulting. Therefore 
the conditions of illumination are, first, an intense heat, 
and, second, a solid placed in the midst of it, which remains 
fixed and gives out the light. 

The lighting power of a gas depends upon the proportion 
of carbon it contains, the particles of which become glow- 
ing hot before being consumed. See Oombustioi^^ ; Heat; 
Carbon. 

Flaiige-smootlier. — A moulder's tool, curved to fit 
the flanges of pipes, etc., and smooth the edge. See 
Slicker. 



Flasks. 169 Flat-head Nails. 

Flasks. — The iron or wooden monlding-boxes in which 
sand matrices or moulds are formed for the production of 
castings. 

When a mould is formed in the floor, only one flask, 
cope, or top part is needed to cover with, consisting of 
frame and bars ; this may be cast in one piece, or it may 
be made up of sides, ends, and bars, all se23arate ; in which 
case the ends and bars must be bolted or wedged in their 
respective places. 

In such a cope, stops for guiding-stakes, trunnions for 
turning over by, and handles or ring-bolts for lifting with,, 
are all that is needed for the complete flask. Lugs and 
pins added to such a flask would convert it into a cope, only 
requiring a nowel, or bottom part, to complete a set, being; 
then called a pair of flasks. Intermediate cheeks make it 
a set of flasks, three-part, four-part, etc., according to the 
number of cheeks interposed betwixt cope and nowel. 

By fitting all such flasks to standard templets they 
become interchangeable, making it a simple matter to fit 
any kind of job when the cheeks are made of various 
depths. 

The business of making small flasks for brass-moulders 
is now a special one, and the dealers in foundry supplies 
can furnish them with pouring-holes in any position 
desired. They are also drilled with standard templets, 
faces planed, pins turned true and bolted to the lugs with 
nuts. Being interchangeable, they are readily replaced 
when necessary. See Bar ; Floor-moulding ; Stakes ; 
Cope ; Trunnion ; Ring-bolt ; Lugs ; Pins ; Nowel ; 
Cheek. 

Flat-head Nails. — Nails of malleable cast iron with 
extra-large heads, and from 1|^ to 6 inches long, suitable 
for chaplets. They are also useful in a foundry for many 
other purposes. See Chaplet. 



Flint. 170 tloui'. 

Flint. — Flint is a compact homogeneous substance of 
a steel-gray color, sometimes bi-own or black. In composi- 
tion it consists of almost pure silica, with traces of iron, 
lime, and alumina. From the earliest times flint has been 
employed as a fire-producer, especially with a steel imple- 
ment in the yet familiar form of '^ flint and steel." Flint 
enters largely into the composition of fine earthenware, for 
which purpose it is reduced to powder after it has been 
calcined and thrown into cold water. See Quartz. 

Floor-moulding is moulding an object on the floor 
by the process of " bedding in"; or possibly on the floor in 
flasks, as distinguished from moulding on the bench. The 
former method \^ fioor-woulding , the latter bench-moulding. 
See Bedding in; Rolling over; Bench-moulder. 

Flour. — A name given in a general way to all the finer 
descriptions of pulverized grain or peas, which when unfit 
for food finds its way into the foundry, to be there employed 
for mixing with sands, blackings, and facings in order to 
impart artificial strength to those substances by binding 
the particles together with the gluten it contains. The 
gluten of wheat-flour is extremely tenacious and elastic; 
the value of flour as a toughener of sand depends upon this 
substance, which, when dried, has a birdlime or glue-like 
aspect which imparts a fibrous, tough, and elastic quality 
to sands which would otherwise be lacking in these im- 
portant essentials. This, of course, admits the use of sands 
absolutely free from alumina, being by this artificial stif- 
fening made to perform duties that would be possible only 
with sands containing alumina in considerable proportions. 
Alumina hardens in the core when cast, and is difficult to 
remove; gluten burns away, leaving the sand free. See 
Core-sand; Core-compound; Molasses; Glue; Gluten; 
Starch. 



iPlow-off Gates. 171 Fluor-spar Fius. 

Flow-off Gates. — See Cut-off. 

Fluid. — A body whose parts yield to the slightest force 
when impressed, and by yielding are easily moved against 
each other. Fluids may be divided into elastic and non- 
elastic. Elastic fluids are those which may be compressed 
into a very small compass, but resume their former dimen- 
sions on removing the compressing force. These are dis- 
tinguished as airs or gases. Non-elastic fluids are those 
which occupy the same bulk under all pressures, or, if 
compressible, it is only in a slight degree — as water, oils, 
etc. These are denominated liquids, except in the case 
of metals when melted. The physical nature, laws, and 
effects of non-elastic fluids at rest constitute the science 
of hydrostatics, and when in motion, of the science of 
hydraulics; those that relate to elastic fluids appertain to 
pneumatics. See Solid. 

Fluid Alloy. — If sodium 4, potassium 2^, be mixed 
together, an alloy having the appearance and consistency 
of mercury will result, which remains liquid at the ordi- 
nary temperatures like that metal. See Mercury; Alloy; 
Sodium. 

Fluor-spar Flux. — Fluor-spar or calcium fluoride is 

a brittle, transparent to sub-translucent mineral with a 
perfect octahedral cleavage, a vitreous, sometimes splen- 
dent lustre, and specific gravity of 3.12. It decrepitates, 
tinges the flame dull red, and fuses into an enamel before 
the blowpipe. Fluor-spar is used for the production of 
hydrofluoric acid in etching on seals and glass, and it is 
extensively used in the smelting of lead and copper as a 
flux. It is found in metalliferous veins, also in granite, 
slate, limestone, etc. 

A very small quantity of fluor-spar in the cupola makes 



Flux. 1*^3 Follow board. 

the slag m61*e tliinly liquid and poorer in iron than does 
limestone. It saves labor, preserves the cupola, and keeps 
it clean. To some extent fuel is saved by a judicious use 
of this flux, and at the same time it facilitates the sepa- 
ration of phosphorus and sulphur from the iron. While 
limestone is to some extent a dephosphorizing agent and 
active flux, and is cheap also, it must be admitted that it 
is also dirty and difficult to get along with in the cupola. 
For a heat of five tons, ten pounds of fluor-spar to the ton 
would be sufficient; for ten tons, fifteen pounds to the ton; 
and for twenty-five tons, twenty pounds to the ton. When 
dirty iron is being melted and aided by this flux, it is; 
absolutely necessary to employ a slag-hole to allow the con- 
taminating accumulations to run off. See Flux; Cupola; 
Ohargii^g the Common" Cupola. 

Flux is a general term given to the substances em- 
ployed in the arts which cause or facilitate the reduction 
of a metallic ore and the fusion of the metal. White flux 
is an intimate mixture of 10 parts dry carbonate of soda 
and 13 parts dry carbonate of potash, and is used for with- 
drawing the silica or combined sand from mineral bodies. 

Black flux is prepared by heating in close vessels ordi- 
nary cream of tartar, with an intimate mixture of finely 
divided charcoal, by which means the carbonate of potash 
is obtained. 

Limestone is employed as the flux in the smelting of 
iron ore. Fluor-spar, borax, protoxide of lead, are also 
fluxes. See Alloy ; Solder ; Cast Iron ; Fluor-spar 
Flux; Slag. 

Follow-board. — A turn-over board on which to ram 
the nowel. When the pattern has a flat face a plain, true 
board suffices; but should there be any deviation from a 
plain surface, the board is shaped to fit, so that the pattern 



Tonderie a Calabasse, 173 Fontainemoreau's Bronzes. 

may rest firmly at every part and not be injured by the 
pressure exerted when the i-amming takes place. 

The value of these boards is enhanced by forming in or 
on the board whatever projections or depressions are need- 
ed to make a completed parting when it has been turned 
over, leaving little or nothing to do but lay on the parting- 
sand and proceed to ram the cope. See Rolling over; 
Match-part; Match-plate. 

Fonderie a Calabasse. — A small Belgic iron- 
foundry for the production of light castings at short 
notice. About four 500-pouud heats may be taken daily 
from a furnace very similar in appearance to an ordinary 
ladle, with trunnions that rest upon standards, and fur- 
nished with handles for turning. The ladle is placed un- 
der a hood against the wall, and, when it is desired to 
melt, it is lined with loam and surmounted with a sheet- 
iron extension, also lined and provided with a hole at its 
lower edge for introducing the blast-pipe. A hand-fan, 
equal to 1000 revolutions per minute, enables them to ob- 
tain very hot metal. When the fuel, which fills both ladle 
and extension, has been brought to a glowing heat by a 
soft blast, the metal is charged, and the full force applied 
until all is melted, when the extension is lifted off, slag 
and cinder removed, and the metal is ready for the moulds. 
The percentage of fuel is high, but the convenience is 
great, and the simplicity of the whole apparatus furnishes 
a good opportunity for those with small capital, or for spe- 
cial purposes at any foundry. See Cupola. 

Fontalneinoreau's Bronzes. — Zinc predomi- 
nates in these bronzes, with copper, cast iron, and lead 
in varying proportions, according to the quality desired. 
It is an excellent alloy for casting into metal moulds, the 
metal being rendered more homogeneous by that mode of 



Forge-cinder. 174 Foundation plate. 

casting. The crystalline nature of the zinc is changed by 
the addition of these alloys, being hard and close-grained, 
like steel, althougli it yields to the file better tlian either 
copper or zinc. Tlie proportions of those which have been 
found best for general use are as follows : 



Zinc. 


Copper. Lead. 


Cast Iron. 


90 


8 


1 


1 


91 


8 


1 




92 


8 






92 


7 




1 


97 


3 






97 


H 




i 


99 


1 






99i 






i 


See Bronze; Alloy; Copper; 


Zinc. 





Forge-cinder.— See Mill-cinder. 

Fork. — See Coke-fork. 

Former. — A strickle or templet, sometimes termed a 
stveep and a strike, with which to form a mould or core by 
drawing it laterally, along a guideway, the outlines of which 
correspond to the shape of the object to be moulded; 
the former itself detei-mining its vertical height and con- 
formation. The semicircular board which is travelled 
along the edge of a pipe-core plate to make a half -core is 
sk former. See Loam-patterns; Strickle. 

Foundation -plate. — The bottom or base plate 
which carries the whole mould, and to which all other 
parts of the mould are made secure; for which reason it is 
important to make them of sufficient strength for the pur- 
pose. For loam-work they should be made to correspond 



Founding. 175 Freezing. 

with the outer boundary of bricKwork surrounding the 
casting, and all connections, as lugs, staples, bolt-holes, 
etc., must necessarily stand beyond that limit. See Loam- 
wokk; Plate. 

Founding is the art of forming in loam, or sand, a 
mould of any given design, which is subsequently filled with 
molten metal and allowed to solidify, the resultant casting 
being a copy in metal of the design or model furnished. 
The place where these operations are performed is called a 
foundry. See Foundry. 

Foundry. — Foundries are distinguished by either the 
metals employed or the class of castings made, as iron, 
steel, brass, statue, type, bell foundries, etc. ; casting the 
finer metals, as gold, silver, and the infinite number of 
alloys of these and other metals, being necessarily conducted 
on a smaller scale. See Founding. 

Fountain-runner is a running-gate supplied from 
a source below the point at which the metal enters the 
mould, and may be formed by either connecting a vertical 
runner from the casting down to a horizontal one below, 
or by a tapered cylindrical half-ring, having one end 
touching the casting and the other in proximity to the 
main runner at the joint. It is then termed a horn-gate. 
Such runners are serviceable when it is desired to fill a 
mould easily, and with as little friction as possible. See 
Gate; Runner. 

Free Sand is sand which, owing to its freedom from 
alumina, is without the power of cohesiveness, as stone- 
sand, beach-sand, river-sand, etc. See Facing-sand ; Core- 
sand; Flour. 

Freezing". — A technical term for the particular state 



Front-plate. 1^6 Furnace. 

of molten metal when it is losing its fluidity, or changing 
Irom the liquid to the solid state. See Con^geal; Set- 

tDING. 

Front-plate. — A cast-iron plate to which chest, port, 
■ and exhaust cores are secured sometimes, when a cylinder 
on which the steam-chest is to be cast is made in loam. 
Also a plate to cover the breast of a cupola when the hole 
is made large enough for drawing the cinders and slag 
when done melting, as must be the case with all cupolas 
having solid bottoms. See Cupola; Breast; Spout. 

Fuel.— T'uel is a term of general application to all com- 
bustibles employed for producing heat. The two element- 
ary bodies which produce the heating power of fuels, both 
natural and artificial, are hydrogen and carbon ; and as 
there is little or none of the former element contained in 
anthracite, peat charcoal, wood charcoal, or coke, we may 
therefore regard these as carbonaceous fuels. But wood, 
peat, and most varieties of coal contain hydrogen as well as 
carbon, and in their combustion these two substances 
combine to produce volatile and combustible hydrocarbons, 
which are volatilized previous to being consumed; while a 
purely carbonaceous fuel evolves no volatile matter until 
combustion has been effected. See Combustioi^; Coal; 
Coke; Petroleum; Pressed Fuel; Liquid Fuel. 

Fviriiace. — A suitably provided chamber where fire is 
produced by the use of fuel, as for melting metals, smelting 
ores, etc., the former being a cupola, the latter a smelting 
furnace. When the fire receives no other support than a 
natural draught, it is termed a wind or air furnace ; when a 
forcible current of air is injected by means of a fan, blower, 
or engine, it is a blast-furuace; and a reverberatory fur- 
nace when the flame in passing through towards the chim- 



Fusibility. !'<"<' Fusible Alloys. 

ney is thrown down by a low arched roof upon the materials 
to be operated upon. See Cupola; Reverbekatory Fur- 
nace; Blast-furkace; Brass-furnace; also many other 
furnaces, in their respective order. 

Fusibility. — Except in a few instances, all solids 
which can bear a high temperature without suffering a 
cliemical change may be melted. Even carbon has been 
partially fused before the oxy hydrogen blowpipe. Most 
solids when heated to fusing-point change at once into per- 
fect liquids; whilst otners, such as platinum, iron, glass, 
etc., pass through an intermediate pasty condition before 
they are perfectly fluid, making it difficult to determine 
the exact fusing-point. See Malleable Iron. 

Fusible Alloys. — Fusible alloys are composed prin- 
cipally of bismuth, tin, and lead, and the proportions in 
which they are alloyed determine the temperature at which 
they will melt. An alloy of bismuth 8, lead 5, tin 3, when 
fused together, melts at 212° F.; one of bismuth 2, lead 5, 
tin 3, like the other, will melt in boiling water, or 212° F. ; 
and one of lead 3, tin 2, bismuth 5, melts at 197° F. 

Wood's patent fusible metal, cadmium 3, tin 4, lead 8, 
bismuth 15, melts at 150° F. Other fusible alloys which 
bear a particular name will be found in their places. 

As all fusible metals, including lead, tin, zinc, antimony, 
bismuth, etc., and their alloys, melt at a much lower tem- 
perature than iron, ladles or pots of that substance may 
be used for melting them in without any intervening lining. 
See Bismuth ; Tin; Lead ; Antimony; Cadmium ; Al- 
loys. 



Gagger. 178 Gannister. 



Gagger. — A turned piece of rod iron for binding the 
surface sand firmly to the cope. If the surface below the 
joint extends but a little wa}^, a three-inch turn at one end 
is sufficient ; the long end resting against the bar is pressed 
firmly thereto by the rammed sand, and the sand below the 
bars is sustained by this means ; but if the lift is deep, the 
other end of the gagger must be turned at right angles 
also, one inch being enough in this case, the object being 
to hang the gagger on the flask-bar, at the same time allow- 
ing it to rest upon a slight thickness of soft sand at the 
bottom. By this means it becomes impossible for the 
hanging sand to pull the gagger out. 

The former is termed a ^j/a/^i, and the latter a liooked 
gagger. See Bar ; Flasks. 

Galvanized Iron is made by coating clean iron with 
melted zinc. The iron is first subjected to a thorough cleans- 
ing in pickle containing 1 per cent of sulphuric acid, after 
which it is scoured well in clean water and then dipped in a 
bath of melted zinc, the surface of which is covered with sal- 
ammoniac in order to dissolve the oxide which gathers on 
the surface of the molten zinc. The best quality is made 
by first depositing a thin film of tin upon the iron by gal- 
vanic action. See Zii^c-coATiHG ; Tinning; Pickle. 

Gannister. — A highly refractory siliceous rock, used 
very extensively in the several processes connected with the 
manufacture of steel and in the production of steel cast- 
ings, but especially as a lining for the Bessemer converters. 
Ground quartz, sand, and fire-clay are mixed with this sub- 
stance in varying proportions; but the silica, about 90 per 
cent, is cemented to some extent by the argillaceous matter 
it contains, making it in some instances sufficiently cohesive 



Cras. 179 Gas blast Furnace. 

for ramming around a plug, and thus forming a solid lining 
in convert(3rs and steel-melting furnaces without any ad- 
mixture of alumina, etc., in which case the shrinkage is 
materially reduced and the original shape retained under 
very intense heat. See Converter ; Refractory Ma- 
terials. 

Gas. — A name given to all permanently elastic fluids 
and airs. Gases have no cohesion, in consequence of which, 
their particles tend to recede from each other and would 
expand into space — so far as is known — if they were not 
restrained by the pressure exerted by the atmosphere upon 
the earth's surface. In gas, as in liquid, the particles are 
in a condition of equilibrium, — with this difference, that in 
a liquid the equilibrium exists between the attractive and 
repulsive forces in the liquid itself, but in the gas between 
the excess of the repulsive forces in the body and an ex- 
ternal pressure. Gases are therefore fluids in consequence 
of this condition of equilibrium which endows the particles 
with perfect freedom of motion. Gases are also compressi- 
ble and elastic. The solid, liquid, and gaseous conditions 
of bodies depend upon temperature and pressure : for 
instance, mercury becomes solid at 40° below zero F. ; 
from that temperature to GG2° F. it is a liquid, and a gas 
when the temperature exceeds that. If sufficiently cooled 
and pressed all gases would probably become liquids, as 
many of them which arc permanent at ordinary atmos- 
pheric pressure and temperature become liquids on increas- 
ing the pressure and diminishing the temperature, and 
some even solidify when cooled sufficiently. But some 
gases, such as oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, carbonic oxide, 
and nitrous oxide, cannot be liquefied. See Air; Ther- 
mometer; Fluid. 

Gas-blast Furnace.— The only prerequisite de- 



Gas-blast Furnace. 180 Gas-blast Furnace, 

manded for the gas-blast furnace, manufactured by the 
American Gas Furnace Company, is a positive air-pressure. 
This obtained, it will confer an even and controllable tem- 
perature, more even distribution of heat in a given space, 
greater speed of operation, saving of space, greater con- 
venience, and a substantial reduction in the cost of fuel 
over all other methods. Melting-furnace No. 5, which con- 
sumes 200 feet of gas per hour, is described as follows : 

This furnace is used for melting metals in black-lead 
crucibles, Nos. 15 to 20. They are in use for gold, silver, 
copper, and brass, as also for making tests and smaller 
melts of iron, steel, glass, etc. The linings are heavy and 
durable, and firmly bound by iron bands drawn together by 
clamps. Every part of the furnace is interchangeable, and 
easily replaced. 

The combustion chamber consists of the bottom and the 
cylinder, both firmly secured to the distributing -ring. 
The burners penetrate the ^' bottom " lining, and are easily 
detached and replaced if necessary. The bottom is held 
in position by the iron platform, which is easily dropped 
down to replace the lining. The cylinder is secured to the 
distributing-ring by hinged bolts. The cover is hinged to 
the shaft, so as to lift clear of the furnace top Avhen swung to 
either side. The "feed-liole" in cover is sufficiently large 
to give free access to the crucible without removing the 
cover, thus confining the heat while feeding the crucible. 
The small cover closes the feed-hole. 

The crucible stands upon a conical fire-brick support, 
which is easily repaired. A channel through the bottom 
of the chamber affords an outlet for the products of 
combustion, and in case of accident the metal runs out 
of it into a drip-pan. By means of outlets for the prod- 
ucts of combustion, at both the bottom and top of the 
furnace, the greater heat can (in a measure) be made to 
act upon either the bottom or top of crucible. When thq 



Oas-house Coke. 131 Gate. 

vent on top is tightly closed, the greatest heat will be below, 
while the partial opening of the cover will draw it upAvards. 

The air-supply pipe is Itiid close to the floor, or comes up 
to furnace from under the floor when practicable. This is 
a precaution against the intermixture of gas and air in the 
blast-pipe, when the blower is accidentally stopped. 

The gas supply required is the size of "Union" G. The 
consumption of gas varies according to quality of gas and 
degrees of heat required. Taking ordinary city gas as a 
criterion, the No. 5 furnace will require from 200 to 250 
feet of gas per hour and melt 40 lbs. pure copper in thirty 
minutes. See Brass-furj^ace ; Portable Furnaces. 

Oas-lioiise Coke. — This class of coke is invariably 
unfit for cupola purposes, because it has not sufficient co- 
hesiveness to sustain the weight of the charges above, and 
therefore crumbles, allowing much of the combustion to 
take place before it reaches the melting-point of the cupola, 
at which point it is always desirable to have the fuel com- 
pact and in good form to meet the full force of the blast. 
See Coke ; Combustion". 

Gas-pipe Vents are a safe and simple means of 
leading away the gases from vents where there is any possi- 
bility of molten metal forcing its way therein. If iron 
block-prints are used on the cores, as in steam way cores of 
cylinders, the ends may be threaded to screw into vent- 
holes that have been previously tapped in the iron print ; 
if the print is sand, then taper the pipe about one inch, 
so that it may enter snugly. Venting that ordinarily 
would be intricate and untrustworthy is by this means 
made absolutely sure. See Venting. 

Gate. — That part of a system of runners which is in 
direct contact with the casting. In a plain mould, con- 



Crate-pin. 182 Gathering Metal. 

sisting of a cope and nowel, containing two or more cast- 
ings which must be filled at one operation and without a 
runner-iasin, the metal would enter from the ladle by 
the sprue into and down the doivn-gate into the main 
runner, and from thence into the castings through ingates 
or sprays connecting with the mam runner. See Basin" ; 
Down-gate; Runner; Skim-gate. 

Grate - pill. — An upright runner (round, square, or 
flat) which is rammed up vertically in the cope, and forms 
the connection betwixt the orifice for pouring into, and the 
system of gates below. The gate-pin is not unfrequently 
termed a runner-stich. See Down-gate; Gate. 

Gate-rake. — A strong, four-pronged steel fork for 
lifting the gates and medium heavy scrap out of the sand 
in the scrap-pile. The prongs are wide apart to allow all 
sand to fall through, and for this reason are preferable to 
an ordinary sliovel for such use. 

Gate-spool. — An inverted cone, usually made of 
wood, and turned smooth, with a handle projecting from 
its base. It is used for pressing back the sand and making 
smooth the upper edges of a sprue-runner, forming a fun- 
nel-shaped and cleanly formed entrance for the metal. A 
runner manipulated thus is called a sprue. See Gate. 

Gathering" Metal is a term used to indicate the 
collecting of a large quantity of metal for the purpose of 
pouring a heavy casting. If three or fonr ladles are used 
for casting a piece 20 tons, the metal is said to be gathered 
in that number of vessels. If a dam is constructed in 
which to run from cupolas, pour from ladles, or both meaus 
combined, all the metal required : it is then gathered in 
the dam. It is common in some places to supplement the 
regular melting in the air or reverberatory furnace by si- 



Crauge. 183 Geared Ladle. 

multaneoiis melting in the cupola, transferring the metal 
from the cupola to the bed of the air-furnace as fast as it 
melts. This is accomplished by means of an inclined 
runner or spout placed so that the metal will enter the air- 
furnace at the side and directly over the reservoir. In the 
latter instance the metal is gathered into the air-furnace, 
which, if suitably constructed, is assuredly the very best 
arrangement for collecting metal in large quantities, as by 
this means the metal is maintained at a suitable tempera- 
ture and is thoroughly mixed — something which cannot 
be satisfactorily done by either of the above described 
methods. See Dam. 

Gauge, or G-age, is an instrument for measuring 
with. It may be adjustable, like the caliper, or a fixed 
and standard measure, as a gauge-stick for loam-work, and 
may be employed for testing inside or outside surfaces. 

Also, an instrument for measuring any special force or 
dimension, as a pressure or blast gauge for cupolas and 
blast-furnaces. See Caliper ; Blast-gauge ; Pressure- 
gauge; Gauge-stick. 

Gauge-stick. — A fixed measure employed by a loam- 
moulder. One edge is straight; its full length represents 
outside diameter, and notches indicate the core's diameter. 
A semicircle, cut midway along the straight edge to fit the 
spindle, enables the moulder to set his sweep-boards, and 
test the accuracy of his work entirely independent of his 
rule. It is made handier by reducing its bulk from the 
middle to the extremities on the back edge. See Gauge. 

Geared Ladle. — A pouring ladle provided with 
mechanism for tipping, invented by James Nasmyth, 
England. Makers of geared ladles, now very numerous, 
mount them with every conceivable variety of suitable 
gearing, from the simple wheel and pinion, spur or worm, 



Gems, Imitation. 184 German silver. 

to the more elaborate ones that are double-geared, or 
with mitre-wheels in addition to the worm-gearing. See 
Ladle. 

Gems, Imitation.— See Paste Gems. 

Oermaii-silver. — An alloy deriving its name from 
the circumstance of its being first made at Hildesheim, 
Germany. It is a useful silver-like alloy, composed gen- 
erally of copper, nickel, and zinc. It resembles the 
Tutenag of the Chinese, and is used principally for table 
articles, and in electro-plating. Ooi^per 3, zinc 1, and 
nickel 1 is perhaps the most silver-like alloy. Tiers- 
argent, an alloy of German with real silver, has come into 
use of late. It consists of copper 59.0, nickel 3.4, zinc 
9.6, silver 27.6. 

This alloy is prepared either by fusing the copper and 
nickel together in a crucible and introducing heated zinc 
piece by piece, or by finely dividing the metals, and melt- 
ing in an air-furnace under a good layer of charcoal. These 
mixtures should be well stirred to promote a thorough 
solution of the nickel. 

The crystalline structure of German-silver is destroyed 
by heating to a dull red and allowing to cool slowly; this 
renders it more suitable for working. The alloy is harder 
than silver, resembles the latter in color, tarnishes yellow 
in the air, and melts at a bright heat, losing its zinc by 
oxidation if exposed to the atmosphere. German-silver is 
exceedingly brittle at a heat just above a dull red. The 
ordinary composition for knives and forks is copper 4, 
nickel 2, zinc 2. That for handles for spoons and forks is 
copper 5, nickel 2, zinc 2. Metal for rolling is composed 
generally of copper 3, nickel 1, zinc 1. Candlesticks, bells, 
spurs, and similar articles that are cast are simply the 
German silver alloyed with from 2 to 3 per cent of lead. 



German Tutania. 185 Gilding. 

When iron is added to the German-silver composition, 
it is best to use tin-plate iron, which must be first melted 
along with part of the copper. If from 2 to 2| per cent 
of iron be added to German-silver, after the manner as 
above described, the metal will be much whiter, but harder 
also, and more brittle. 

Parkas German-silver contains : copper 91.0, nickel 45.5, 
zinc 21.0, iron 45.6. An English patent has: copper 5, 
nickel 4, zinc, tin, lead, and antimony 1 of each. A very 
malleable German-silver is made from : copper 5, nickel 
and zinc 7 each. Very many silver imitations are described 
in their proper order throughout this work. See Pack- 
FOKG ; Paeisian White Metal ; Geemai^^ Tutania ; 
Tombac ; Beitannia Metal; White Alloys. 

German Tutania. — A beautiful white alloy for 
table-ware, etc. Its composition is: copper 1, antimony 4, 
tin 48. See Geemaist-silvee; White Alloys. 

German White Copper.— Copper 88, nickel 8.75. 
See White Alloys. 

Gi^. — A light, portable centre for sweeping small 
moulds and cores, etc., in either loam, sand, composition, 
or plaster. See Spikdle. 

Gilding". — The three methods of gilding are: mechani- 
cal, chemical, and encaustic. Picture-frames, etc., are first 
oiled and then coated with whiting and glue, after which 
the gold size is applied to such parts as do not require bur- 
nishing ; those which do are simply sized with the clear 
animal size. The gold-leaf is then applied with a brush. 
Electro-gilding is generally practised for metals. Water- 
gilding is simply applying a gold amalgam paste to the 
metal, and afterwards applying heat, which volatilizes the 



Glot)6. 186 Olne. 

mercury, leaving the gold. The amalgam is made by plac- 
ing grain or leaf gold 1 in a clean iron ladle, add mercury 
8, and. apply a gentle heat until the gold is dissolved, stir 
well with a clean iron rod, and run it on a clean slab. 
This, when cold, is the amalgam, ready for use. 

The cleaned metal to be gilded is first rubbed over with 
a solution of nitrate of mercury, and at once covered with 
a thin coat of the amalgam. Heat is then applied to vola- 
tilize the mercury, and the gold adheres. Cheaper gilding 
may be made by increasing the quantity of mercury in the 
amalgam. 

Steel may be gilded by dipping the polished article into 
the ethereal solution of gold ; oh withdrawing, the ether 
evaporates, leaving the gold. A cloth dipped in the solu- 
tion and wiped over the article answers the purpose. See 
Stains for Metals; Tinning; Zinc Coating. 

Globe. — A sphere, a ball. See Sphere ; Ball. 

Gluciiiiim. — A metal resembling aluminum, pre- 
pared after the same manner. It is a rare metal, and was 
discovered by Wohler, 1828. See Aluminum. 

Glue is an impure gelatine, made chiefly from frag- 
ments of hides, hoofs, bones, etc. Besides the many uses 
to which it is put for carpentry, pattern-making, etc., it is 
capable of furnishing an excellent means for imparting 
cohesiveness to the several free sands used for cores. When 
used as a glue water for dampening the sand, the gelatine 
binds the particles of sand together with a jelly-like sub- 
stance, which, when the water has evaporated during the 
drying, leaves the core hard and brittle in proportion to 
the quantity of glue in the water. By using the smallest 
quantity necessary to stiffen pure sand, little or no gas is 
generated by the heat, thus making it possible, in numer- 



Glue Moulds. 187 Gold. 

ons instances where it is difficult to obtain a vent, to use 
cores that are devoid of vents altogether. When cores of 
this class have been burnt by the metal there is no diffi- 
culty in extracting them from the castings, the glue hav- 
ing burned away, leaving only the incoherent sand. See 
Free Sand; Core-sakd; Flour. 

Olvie Moulds. — Plaster casts of intricate objects 
may be obtained by making the mould of glue. Bunches 
of grapes, etc., for instance, are taken in their natural 
shape by covering them all over with glue, then cutting 
through the middle and extracting the grapes, after which 
the halves are joined together accurately and the cavity 
filled with plaster. A perfect cast of whatever object has 
been treated will be discovered after the glue has been 
melted off with boiling water. See Elastic Moulds. 

Grluteii is vegetable fibrin. If wheat flour is made 
into a dough and kneaded on a sieve under a stream of 
water, the starch is carried away, leaving a gray, tough, 
and elastic substance having the appearance of animal skin, 
and which when dried has a glue-like aspect ; hence the 
name. See Starch. 

Glycerine is a colorless, inodorous fluid, of a sweet 
taste. The usual method of obtaining it on a small scale 
is from olive-oil. See Oils. 

Gold is a metal very widely diffused, occurring princi- 
pally in grains, but sometimes in larger pieces weighing 
some pounds; it also occurs in the crystalline form in some 
instances. Its color is yellow, lustre brilliant; specific grav- 
ity 19.258. It is the most malleable of metals, is ductile 
to a high degree, and as soft as lead when pure. It melts 
at 2587° F., and is not affected by air or water at any 
temperature. 



Gold. 188 Gold. 

The usual solvent for gold is aqua regia, a mixture of 
nitric acid 1, chlorliydric acid 3 to 4. The name of this 
solvent means royal water, so called from its power of dis- 
solving the king of metals. 

Gold, like silver, in a pure state is seldom used in the 
arts, except perhaps as a solder for vessels of platinum for 
laboratory uses. Dentist's and gilding gokl usually con- 
tains about 6 grains of copper to one ounce of gold. Stand- 
ard gold, copper 1, gold 11, has a density of 17.157, and is 
harder and more fusible than gold when pure. The 
French standard is copper 1, gold 9. 

Carat is a term used to designate one of the parts or 
units of a certain number which is taken as the standard 
of pure gold. In the United States the number is 24 ; 
hence pure gold is said to be 24 carats fine. If it contain 
2 parts alloy, it is then 22 carats, etc. 

Gold is separated from all its ores, except silver, by 
amalgamation with mercury. (See Amalgamation.) It is 
obtained from silver by boiling it with nitric acid, which 
dissolves out the silver, leaving the pure gold. See Sepa- 
EATiNG Metals. 

Most metals combine with gold, increasing its hardness 
but impairing its ductility. 

With silver 29.2, gold 70.8, the jeweller's composition 
called green gold is produced. The maximum degree of 
hardness with silver is obtained when the silver constitutes 
one third of the alloy; with copper it is one eighteenth. 
Twenty per cent of iron with gold produces the jeweller's 
gray gold, and 75 per cent makes an alloy of silvery white- 
ness, hard enough for cutting instruments. 

Thirteen hundred miles of silver wire may be covered by 
one ounce of gold, the leaf is reduced to the 290,000th part 
of an inch, and a leaf of 56 square inches may be beaten 
out of one grain of this metal. See Gildii^g; Alloy; 
Tombac ; Gold Alloy. 



Oold Alloy. 1 so „ , 

• ^?*'^ Alloy.-An imitation resembling tlie pure metal 
m color and of about tlie same specific gravity is made by 
melting togetlier in a crucible, well covered witli cliarcoal- 
dust, copper 7, platinum 16, zinc 1. Mannheim gold, an- 
other beautiful imitation, is made in the same way from 
copper 16, zinc i, tin 1. Gold 75, copper 25, and a little 
silver is a remarkable jewelry composition. 



Gold-leaf.— See Gold. 



Gold-soWer.-Take gold of the same quality as the 
article to be soldered, and add -^ of silver and ,V of copper 
A larger proportion of silver and copper may be added for 
articles not so fine. See Soldeks. 

, ?„""??"®*** '' composed of copper 78 to 80, tin 20 
to .2. After casting, the metal is subjected to a process 
of hammering and annealing. Owing to the brittleness of 
the mix ure, great care and judgment is required to beat 
1 into the flat basin-shaped gong, which, when struck with 
the mallet, puts the metal into such an extraordinary state 
of vibration as to produce the piercing sound emitted. 
Annealing is obtained by heating to a dull red, and sud- 
denly immersing in water. When cold, the hammering can 
be continued until a point of brittleness is reached, when a 
repetition of the annealing process is made necessary, and 
so on until completed. See Alloys; Brass. 

Grades of Pig-iron.-Pig-iron produced from the 
same ores dillers in its nature and quality, and must be 
lated or graded in such a manner as will indicate the special 
purpose for which each is applicable. Broadly stated, the 
classifications are commonly understood as gray, mottled, 
and white-a condition discovered by the fracture; but the 
gray iron ,s subjected to still further divisions, termed No 



Grain-tin. 190 Graphite. 

1, No. 2, No. 3, etc., according as the fracture indicates the 
various degrees of hardness, commencing at the softest, No. 
1, the numbers advancing as the hardness increases up to 
the point where they cease to be suitable for general foun- 
dry purposes, and are classed as forge-irons, being fit only 
for conversion into malleable iron in the paddling-furnace. 
The lack of fluidity common to the latter grades is a qual- 
ity which makes them highly desirable for the puddling 
process, as in melting they pass, just before fusion is com- 
plete, into a pasty mass favorable for decarburization much 
easier and with less loss than could be possible if the pig- 
iron were gray and more fluid. See Malleable Iron". 

Grain-tin.— See Tm. 

Granite is a widely known igneous rock, composed of 
quartz, feldspar, and mica, united in a confused crystalliza- 
tion. Feldspar predominates, and quartz is greater than 
mica. It is so called because of its granular structure. 
The decomposition of the feldspar of some kinds of granites 
produces the kaolin used for porcelain, and for many 
purposes in metallurgy. When granite decomposes and 
becomes mixed with organic matter it makes good soil. See 
Kaolin; Mica; Feldspar; Kock; Earths. 

Granulated Zinc— See Zinc, To Purify. 

Grapes, A Plaster Cast of.— See Glue Moulds. 

Graphite. — The nature of graphite, sometimes called 
plumbago or black lead, is not generally understood. Emi- 
nent writers on friction have declared that graphite is the 
best natural lubricant known, and scientific and mechanical 
papers have advocated its use for many purposes. Incom- 
petent, if not unscrupulous, parties have attempted to meet 



Graphite in Pig-iron. 191 Graphite in Pig-iron. 

the demand by putting on the market graphite productions 
that are totally unfit for the uses specified. 

Graphite is one of the forms of carbon. It is not affected 
by heat or cold, or any known chemical. As it comes from 
the mine, however, it contains from 50 to 80 per cent of 
silica, sulphur, and other impurities, and the process of 
completely freeing the graphite from impurities requires 
very expensive machinery and the most skilful manipula- 
tion. Only manufacturers having such facilities can hope 
to produce an absolutely pure article. The impurities in 
much of the graphite now in the market take on the ap- 
pearance of graphite by contact, and such impurities are 
sometimes undetected even by the expert, unless chemical 
tests are employed. This is especially true of amorphous 
graphite, commonly called black lead, which is graphite 
without any particular form, and usually mixed with clay. 

Pure graphite, and even black lead, is useful in many 
ways ; but to be useful in the highest degree the graphite 
should be carefully selected with a view to the use intended. 
Graphite suitable for lead-pencils is not the most suitable 
for lubricating, although it has lubricating qualities. 
Again, graphite suitable for stove-polish would not answer 
for crucibles, although it might be equally pure and stand 
the heat equally well. 

Graphite varies greatly in its construction and usefulness, 
and the best results are only brought about through experi- 
ence, knowledge, and proper mechanical facilities. See 
Black Lead; Facing. 

Graphite in Pig^-iron. — Pig-iron contains from 2 
to 6 per cent of carbon, some portion of which is held in 
chemical combination with the iron, the rest being distrib- 
uted throughout the mass mechanically. The latter is 
called graphitic carbon, or graphite. This graphite is seen 
as scales, which may be detached from the mass when the 



Gravity. 193 Green-sand Core. 

pig-iron is reduced to powder, and may also be found 
among gray-iron borings that are subjected to a process 
of grinding and sifting. If gray iron that has been melted 
in contact with an excess of carbon is allowed to cool 
slowly, the carbon crystallizes out and forms graphite ; this 
is commonly called Kisli in the foundry, and it is always 
seen to gather when the iron is melted under conditions 
answering to those described above. See KiSH ; Carbon. 

Gravity.— See Specific Gravity. 

Gray Pig-iron is all pig-iron that contains a large 
proportion of its carbon in a graphitic state. Such irons 
may be distinguished by their crystalline fracture and dark- 
gray color. See Cast Iron". 

Green-sand is moulding-sand in a moist condition, 
and suitably mixed to form moulds in which the metal can 
be poured at once, without subsequent drying. See Facing- 
sand ; Dry-sand Moulding ; Green-sand Moulding ; 
Dampness. 

Green-sanrl Core. — The inner mould, whose out- 
side surface has been fashioned to correspond with the 
desired form of the inside of a casting, and which has been 
constructed exclusively from materials favorable to a suc- 
cessful issue without the intermediate process of drying 
consequent upon cores that are made from dry-sand ma- 
terial. The chief requirements in this mode of core-mak- 
ing are, first, a suitable core-bar, or arbor (see Arbor), to 
carry the sand ; second, a tough, strong sand for the lower 
hanging surface, the upper surface aiid the interior of the 
core being formed with sand as open as may be consistent 
with safety ; and thirdly, an uninterrupted passage for the 
vents if they are open ones ; but in large cores cinders are 



Green-sand Moulding. 193 Greiner Patent Cupola. 

always preferable. See Facii*5'g - SA]srD ; Greek - sand 
Moulding. 

Green-sand Moulding is the art of constructing 
moulds capable of resisting the destructive influence of 
molten metal without the subsequent drying incident to 
loam and dry-sand moulding. More skill is required to 
mould similar castings in green-sand than by either of the 
other methods, because the moulds cannot possibly be made 
as rigid and unyielding ; therefore there must be superior 
ingenuity displayed to overcome these disadvantages. 
Every process connected with green-sand work must be 
worked with greatest care, provision for sustaining and 
anchoring cores and portions of mould must be made inde- 
pendent of the mould proper, and in all cases the efforts of 
the moulder are directed to a mainteuance of all the parts 
of his mould in their exact position without actual contact, 
otherwise the incoherent material out of which he must 
necessarily form the mould will be shattered and the mould 
destroyed. This is by no means the case in loam and dry- 
sand moulding: the dried loam or sand is compact and 
hard, and in most cases capable of sustaining its several 
parts without fear of damage, in addition to which the 
dried moulds offer a surface always freed from moisture 
and gas-creating substances, the eradication of which in 
green-sand moulds must necessarily take place during the 
process of filling the mould with metal. See Dry-saitd 
Moulding ; Loam-moulding. 

Greiner Patent Cupola.— This remarkable cupola 
is thus described by the patentee : 

"The novelty of the invention consists in a judicious ad- 
mission of blast into the upper zones of a cupola, whereby 
the combustible gases are consumed within the cupola and 
the heat utilized to preheat the descending charges, thereby 



Greiner Patent Cupola. 194 Greiner Patent Cupola. 

effecting a saving in the fuel necessary to melt the iron 
when it reaches the melting zone. In order to fully ex- 
plain the principle of its workings, we will suppose a cupola 
of the ordinary design, with a single row of tuyeres or air 
inlets. The incoming air burns the coke in front of the 
tuyeres to carbonic-acid gas, a combination indicating per- 
fect combustion. As this gas ascends through the incan- 
descent coke above, most of it is converted into carbonic 
oxide by the absorption of an equivalent of carbon. The 
result of the combustion is, therefore, a gas mostly com- 
posed of carbonic oxide (CO), indicating an imperfect utili- 
zation of the fuel, as one pound of carbon burned to car- 
bonic acid (COJ will develop 14,500 heat-units ; whereas 
the same amount of carbon burned to carbonic oxide (CO) 
will only develop 4480 heat-units, or less than one third of 
the heat developed by perfect combustion. 

" To avoid this loss of heat additional tuyeres have been 
placed at a short distance above the lower tuyeres to intro- 
duce air to consume the carbonic oxide (CO), but such 
arrangement does not have the desired effect, because the 
material at that place in the cupola has a very high tem- 
perature, consequently the entering air also ignites the 
coke, so that the action at the lower tuyeres is simply re- 
peated, and carbonic oxide (CO) again formed at a short 
distance above.^^ 

This led Mr. Greiner to the following conclusions : 

" In every cupola there must be a point above which the 
descending materials have not yet reached the temperature 
necessary for the ignition of the solid fuel, while the as- 
cending combustible gas is still warm enough to ignite 
when brought into contact with air. It is clear that air, if 
properly admitted above that point, will cause the combus- 
tion of the carbonic oxide (CO) without igniting the coke. 

" But if all the air necessary for the combustion of tlie 
carbonic oxide (CO) be admitted at one place or in one 



Grids. 195 Grouting. 

horizontal row of tuyeres, the heat developed will very soon 
raise tlie temperature so as to set fire to the coke, producing 
loss of carbon as before. Hence the upper blast must not 
be introduced on a horizontal plane, but through a number 
of small tuyeres, arranged (either in the form of a spiral or 
otherwise) so as to embrace the higher zones of the cupola, 
and must be regulated, both as to pressure and arrange- 
ment and dimensions of pipes, according to the capacity of 
each particular cupola. 

"The combustible gases are thus burned without heating 
the coke to incandescence, and the heat thus developed 
utilized to preheat the iron and the coke, so that they reach 
the melting zone at a higher temperature and require less 
heat to effect the melting." See Cupola ; Combustion". 

Grids is the name sometimes given to core-irons made 
similar to a grate of cast iron and used for sustaining bodies 
of sand which extend beyond the edge of a lifting-plate, etc., 
in green-sand work; also with and without prickers for dry- 
sand cores. In the former instance they may be made to 
serve a good purpose. By bolting or clamping the back 
edge to the lifting-plate the extending mould is as firmly 
held as if it rested on the plate itself. They also constitute 
a method of tying green-sand drawbacks, etc., far superior 
to tie-rods. See Tie-rods; Core-iron; Drawback. 

Grooved Drums.— See Spiral Dru3is. 

Grouting. — The process of pouring a thin mixture of 
kaolin or fire-clay betwixt the cupola shell and the fii-e- 
bricks, as well as at the joints of the bricks, during the 
operation of lining. By building the bricks in as close 
contact with the shell as possible and filling the remaining 
spaces with the grout, the brick is permanently fixed, and 
all possibility of air escaping through the joints of the shell 
obviated. See Cupola; Repairing the Cupola. 



Gudgeon. 196 Gun-metal. 

Gudgeon. — The cast or wrought iron journal-piece 
inserted in the ends of a core-barrel^ forming a horizontal 
shaft or axle, with collars for turning in V's or semicircles, 
provided on the upper edge of the trestles which constitutes 
a part of the core-lathe. See Core-lathe; Core-barrel. 

Guides for Green-sand.— See Stakes; Flask; 
Pin and Cotter. 

Guides for Loam- work. — These guides are oi 
necessity somewhat temporary, and require to be well 
preserved during the time the mould remains separated, 
otherwise it is difficult to close each piece in its place cor- 
rectly. If the joints are made by the spindle and sweep, 
let each outside edge be struck at an angle of 45° with the 
joining surface, extending a plain face f inch in each 
direction. By this means both edges can be seen and felt, 
and any discrepancy overcome more easily than when one 
slides into the other by a shallow taper seating. If iron 
ring or plates meets loam, then make the loam to cor- 
respond, and smooth clayey sand over both, dividing at 
the joint, and marking a few lines thereon with a thin 
trowel. Should both joining edges bo loam, both notches 
and lines may be made. See Loam-moulding. 

Gum-arabic— See Arabic-gum. 

Gum-elastic— See India-rubber. 

Gum Resins.— See Resins. 

Gun-founding.— See Cannon; Ordnance. 

Gun-metal. — A soft gun-metal that will bear drift- 
ing is made from : copper 16, tin 1. Harder, for heavy 
guns: copper 9, tin 1. A small proportion of zinc aids 



Gutta-perclia. 197 Oypsum. 

the alloy to mix well, and increases the malleability with- 
out materially affecting its hardness. Sterling's gun-metal 
is copper 50, zinc 25, iron 1 to 8. Rosthorn's is copper 
56.33, tin 0.49, zinc 41.29, iron 1.84. See Alloy; Brass; 
Bron^ze; Tin; Copper. 

Gutta-percha is very similar in many respects to 
caoutchouc, being the dried juice of the Isonandra gutta 
tree. When mixed with about one fourth of linseed-oil it 
makes a good substance for obtaining moulds from undercut 
patterns. After obtaining the mixture and kneading it 
into cakes of suitable thickness, soften the surface before 
the fire and press firmly on the pattern, and, before it be- 
comes cold, remove the mould and set it in cold water at 
once, otherwise it will shrink out of shape. The gutta- 
percha may be softened by heat until it is possible to press 
it into the most intricate recesses, but let the final touches 
leave the mould about equal in thickness all over, taking 
it off whilst warm, and plunging into water. See Elastic 
Moulds; India-rubber; Plaster Casts. 

Gypsum is the sulphate of lime. This salt is found 
in many parts of the world, forming very extensive rocky 
beds. When pure and transparent it is known as selenite, 
and in its other varieties as gypsum, alabaster, and plaster 
of Paris. Powdered gypsum parts with its water of 
crystallization when subjected to a temperature of 300°. 
If it be then made into a liquid paste with water, it again 
combines with it, and at once commences to harden and 
resume its stony condition. It is entirely owing to this 
wonderful property that it can be used for obtaining im- 
pressions of objects by taking casts whilst in a liquid state. 
It is mixed with glue and colored for architectural pur- 
poses, the objects cast being then called stucco-work. See 
Plaster Casts; Plaster of Paris; Stucco-work. 



Hammer. 108 Hand-truck. 



H, 

Hainmer. — A tool consisting of an iron head fixed 
crosswise upon a handle. The hammers in common use 
are of different kinds : including the heaviest sledge, 
wielded by both hands, with which a very heavy blow may 
be given; the hand-hammer, which may be used with one 
hand ; and intermediate sizes and shapes for a variety 
of uses. The largest hammers are those used in the iron 
manufactories for forging purposes, being machines moved 
by steam or some other power, the chief of which will be 
described under their respective heads. See Steam-ham- 
mer; Tilt-hammer. 

Hammer-pick. — A furnace-man's steel tool, having 
a hammer face and sharpened point at the respective ends 
of the head. Used for cutting out and trimming the in- 
side of the cupola. See Pick-hammer ; Repairij^g the 
Cupola. 

Hand-barrow, — A wooden platform provided with 
lifting-handles at both ends. Such wheelless barrows are 
extremely useful for carrying light loads, as cores, cast- 
ings, etc., by two men. 

Hand-ladle.— See Ladles. 

Hand-screw Clamp. — A pair of jaws regulated by 
two hand-screws, used principally by wood-workers, but a 
very handy contrivance for binding work in the foundry, 
such as core-boxes, strips of pattern, etc. 

Hand-trnck. — A small vehicle to be propelled by 
one man. It may be a platform with three or four wheels. 



Handwriting Impressions. 199 Hardening Metals. 

with swivel lock on tlie front for turning easily ; or the 
common warehouse truck, consisting of two long handles 
held together with cross-ties, terminating with axle and 
wheels and a purchase-plate. 

Handwriting Impressions on Cast Iron. — 

This is accomplished by the use of a carbon ink, which 
leaves a substantial and hard body — one that will not be 
destroyed with molten cast iron. 

A Boston gentleman discovered the method, which con- 
sists of writing hachwards upon ordinary paper with pre- 
pared ink, and from riglit to left, instead of the usual way. 
The paper is fastened to the mould surface and the metal 
poured over. The paper burns away of course, but the 
carbon ink resists the action of the molten iron and leaves 
an indented impression of the writing upon it. See Em- 
broidery iMPREssioifs IN" Cast Iron. 

Hard Alloy. — It is claimed that if an alloy is made 
from 4 copper, 7 zinc, and 1 tiu, it will resist all attempts 
at turning; but if petroleum is used freely the alloy will 
yield at once to the tools. See Brass ; Speculum Metal. 

Hard Brass. — Copper 100, tin 10, zinc 5. See 
Brass ; Speculum Metal. 

Hardening Metals. — The processes for hardening 
or tempering the several metals are various. Steel is won- 
derfully affected by heating and then plunging into water, 
being so susceptible to this process that almost any degree 
of hardness may be obtained, and it may again be made 
soft and malleable, as before, by reheating and allowing it 
to slowly cool. 

To harden cast iron, use a liquid made as follows : Soft 
water 10 gallons, salt 1 peck, oil of vitriol ^ pint, saltpetre 



Hardness of Minerals. 200 Hard Plaster. 

J pound, prussiate of potash J pound, cyanide of potash ^ 
pound. Heat the cast iron cherry-red, and dip as usual^ 
repeating the process if wanted harder. 

Wrought iron is surface-hardened by heating to a bright 
red, sprinkling with prussiate of potash, and plunging into 
cold water when it has cooled to a very dull red. See 
Metals; Temperii^g. 

Hardness of Minerals.— The hardness of miner- 
als, beginning with the hardest, is as follows : Diamond 1, 
corundum 2, sapphire 3, topaz 4, quartz 5, feldspar 6, 
scapolite 7, apatite 8, fluor-spar 9, calcareous spar 10, gyp- 
sum 11, talc 12. See Precious Stoi^es. 

Hardness of Precious Stones.— See Precious 

Stokes. 

Hard Pig-iron is distinguished by showing at the 
fracture a dull, grayish-white color, flaky in appearance, 
with more or less mottle. An extreme degree of hardness 
exists when the fracture shows a highly crystalline nature, 
with long, needle-like crystals radiating, and no appear- 
ance of graphite. See Cast Iro:?^ ; Grading Pig-irok ; 
Soft Pig-iron^. 

Hard Plaster is made by saturating pieces of freshly 
calcined plaster with water that holds in solution 12 per 
cent of alum. After thorough saturation the pieces are 
lifted from the liquid, dried, and calcined at a red heat; 
after which they are pulverized and sifted, and the plaster 
is fit for mixing. This plaster requires only about one 
half of the water used for the ordinary material, but is 
much longer in setting. When set, this hard plaster is 
about 50 per cent stronger than the common, and produces 
a fine, polished surface. See Plaster. 



Hardware. 201 Hay-rope Twister. 

Hardware. — A common term for such maniifactiires 
as are produced from the useful metals, iron, steel, copper, 
zinc, tin, brass, and some of the commoner kinds of plated 
goods. See Metals; Brass; Britaknia Metal. 

Hay Rope. — Hay twisted into rope to any desired 
thickness, and used for wrapping core-barrels before the 
clay and loam is applied, its purpose beiug to cover the 
vent-holes in the barrel, and at the same time serve as a 
medium for carrying the loam. When the molten metal 
covers the core, the gases generated in the sand enter the 
hay rope and pass into the barrel through the vent-holes 
provided. Straio, and meadow as well as irrairie liay, are 
also employed for making these ropes. See Core-barrel; 
Ord^^an^ce; Hay-rope Twister. 

Hay-rope Twister. — A machine for spinning hay or 
straw ropes. Formerly rope-spinning was a tedious opera- 
tion, consisting of a simple hooked crank which an assist- 
ant turned in his hands, gradually walking backward as 
the hay was paid out by the skilful hands of the operator, 
who sat behind a loose pile of damp hay or straw, and 
fed it in just such quantity as would j^roduce the thick- 
ness of rope required. The machine hay-rope twisters 
now becoming general for this purpose are of various 
designs. The following is a full description of a power 
twister: 

It is constructed of the most approved design, of the 
best material, and the workmanship is first-class. The 
bearings of the revolving frame turn upon stout iron 
standards, which rest on heavy wooden skids, two inches by 
eight inches. The winding pulley is propelled backward 
and forward by cog-gearing on a right-and-left screw, 
which reverses by a spring arrangement at each end of 
same. 



Hay-rope Twister. ^02 Hay-rop6 Twister. 

An operator feeds hay into the hollow spindlC;, which 
Llirects the rope on its way to the reel. As the rope is 
twisted by the revolving frame, it is fed on the spool by 
the operator pressing his foot gently on the treadle, reliev- 
ing it as soon as the rope is wound, and spinning and feed- 
ing together. 

The rope can be made tighter or looser according to the 
tension placed on it by the operator, care being taken when 
the hay or straw is weak in quality. 

Great skill is acquired by practice, and beginners must 
not be discouraged by breaking the rope or other mis- 
haps. 

The machine should make about two hundred revolu- 
tions per minute or faster for small rope, which varies from 
say one-half inch up to one and one-half inches, depending 
upon the body of material fed by operator. Each reel will 
contain about one thousand feet of rope on an average, and 
from five to ten reels can be spun in a day, according to size 
of rope, which is a large produce for a smart boy. 

This machine must be belted to run from right to left at 
the feeding end, so as to twist the rope right-handed. In 
securing the twister to the floor, care must be taken not to 
bolt it in such a way as to cause the frame to bind in its 
bearings. 

The reels or spools when full should be removed and 
sent to the foundry, where they are dropped in a frame and 
unwound directly on the core-barrels. A sufficient length 
of rope is allowed to remain on the machine to begin an- 
otiier reel witli, say, six or eight feet — enough to fasten to 
the body of the reel. 

Dimensions. — Extreme length, 6 ft. ; extreme height, 2 ft. 
10 in.; extreme width, 2 ft. 6 in.; weight, 750 lbs.; ship- 
ping weight, 850 lbs. 

Adaptation. — Motion of reel, rignt to left ; capacity of 
reel, about 1000 feet of ro23e; product, 5 to 10 reels per 



Head. 203 Heat. 

day, according to size of rope and skill of operator; sizes 
of rope, i in. to IJ in. 

Head. — An extension added tc the top end of a casting 
when the mould is poured in a vertical position and it is 
desired to obtain a surface that is free from scum and dirt. 
The sullage is pushed beyond the limits of the casting, 
lodging in the '' head," leaving the former clean. 

Another form of riser is one into which the metal is 
forced by head pressure after the mould is full, and may, 
if placed on the top, answer as a dirt receiver, or serve as 
a means for feeding. See Eiser. 

Heap-sand. — The common sand on the foundry floor. 
When a moulder is using a certain quantity of sand every 
day for filling a set number of flasks with, he usually col- 
lects it in a heap close by, and designates it as heap-sand ; 
in contradistinction to the facing-sand or new-sand em- 
ployed in the immediate vicinity of his pattern. See 
Floor-sand; Old-sand; Facing-sand. 

Hearth is that part of a smelting-furnace where the 
ore accumulates and is finally separated from the impuri- 
ties which may be present in the ores. It is situated at the 
bottom of the furnace, a little above the mouth of the 
tuyeres. The term is also applied to the bottoms of finery, 
open-hearth, and reverberatory furnaces, where the metal 
is exposed to the action of fire. See Blast-furnace. 

Heart-trowel. — A moulder's tool with a heart-shaped 
blade. When, instead of a handle, another tool is forged 
at the opposite end, it is called a double-end, and may be 
used at either end as occasion requires. See Moulding- 
tools. 

Heat. — We experience the sensation of heat when we 



Heat. ^04 Heat. 

approach a warm body. The opposite of heat is cold, 
which merely implies a greater or less deficiency of heat. 
The two kinds of heat, which are called free, or sensible, 
and latent, are represented by fire and ice; the free, as in 
fire, can be felt, while that in ice is latent and cannot be 
felt. There is lieat in all substances, but in those which 
are called cold it exists in an inferior degree. Some think 
that heat is not a material substance, but results from the 
vibrations of the particles of bodies ; others believe it to be 
an exceedingly subtle substance, whose particles repel each 
other and thus give it a tendency to diffuse itself while 
they have a strong affinity for other matter. It would ap- 
pear that heat is closely connected witli light, as the one is 
generally accompanied by the other. That heat has no 
weight is proved by weighing a piece of ice, and then melt- 
ing it, the water produced will weigh the same as the ice. 
The chief sources of heat are the sun, chemical and mechan- 
ical action, and electricity. Many speculations have been 
indulged in as to what composes the sun, that it should 
continue to give undiminished heat without exhausting the 
material by which it is supported. That chemical action 
is a source of heat, may be demonstrated by combining two 
or more substances to produce a new substance totally dif- 
ferent in its nature from either; an increase of temperature 
alway accompanies such action, as may be proved by mixing 
sulphuric acid and water in equal quantities; it forms a 
new substance and gives off heat. Combustion is a chem- 
ical union of the oxygen of the atmosphere with the com- 
bustible body, or some of its elements. Animal heat is 
produced by a similar process: when we breathe air is drawn 
into the lungs, where it comes in contact with the part- 
icles of carbon contained in the blood; there is then a 
chemical union of the carbon with the oxygen of the air 
inhaled, and, as in the case of combustion, latent heat is 
evolved. Friction, percussion, and compression are illustra- 



Height of Cupola. 205 Herbertz Steam jet Cupola. 

tions, showing that mechanical action is a source of heat; 
and electricity is conchisively shown to be another source 
of heat, as the heat produced by its action will melt almost 
any known substance. See Combustion ; Temperature. 

Height of Cupola. — What is commonly understood 
to be the height of a cupola is the distance from the bottom 
up to the lower edge of the charging-hole. When it is 
desired to obtain the best results when melting with hard 
coal or coke, the height for all cu^oolas up to fifty inches 
diameter should be at least five diameters ; but when the 
diameter exceeds fifty inches, the height may be four 
diameters from the bottom to the lower edge of the charg- 
ing-hole. See Cupola ; Charging the Common Cupola. 

Helper is one who assists a mechanic or artist in the 
regular routine of his work, the more laborious and simple 
duties being his especial work, for which reason he is usual- 
ly recognized as an unskilled laborer. 

Hematite. — A valuable iron ore, consisting chiefly of 
peroxide of iron. It occurs in large quantities, its two 
chief varieties being red and hroion hematite. An earthy 
kind, called iron-froth, consists almost entirely of iron. 
Brown hematite contains about 14 per cent of water. See 
Eed Hematite. 

Hemp Rope. — A thin hemp band is sometimes 
wrapped on core-barrels in place of hay or straw rope when 
it is desired to obtain a greater thickness of loam than 
would be possible if either of those materials were employed. 
See Core-barrel ; Hay Rope ; Ordnance ; Rope. 

Herbertz Steam-jet Cupola.— See Steam-jet 
Cupola. 



Hessian Crucible. 206 Hoisting-machine. 

Hessian Crucible.— A triangular-shaped crucible, 
made from the best fire-clay and coarse sand. They are a 
cheap kind, and come in nests of sizes from 2 to 8 inches 
high. They are usually for experimental purposes, and 
seldom last but once. See Crucible. 

Hexagon. — A plane figure bounded by six straight 
lines. When these are equal the hexagon is regular. 

Hide-faced Hammers. — Hammers provided with 
faces of hide, suitable for a variety of uses, but especially 
valuable where light, thin castings are made from iron or 
brass patterns. 

Hinged Flasks are flasks operated by hinges fixed 
on their sides or ends instead of slides or pins, making it 
only necessary to elevate one side or end in order to sepa- 
rate the parts. Suitable hinges of a self-adjustable kind, 
if properly secured in their respective positions, are a posi- 
tive fit, and never get out of order. 

Flasks, paired with hinges, require less space to operate 
them in, and are valuable in small foundries where it 
would be impossible to lift large flasks entirely off the 
joint. Besting in hinges, they may be separated very 
effectively with half the force required by the common 
methods. See Flasks. 

Hoisting-Mock. — See Hoisting-machin'e. 

Hoisting-machine is a convenient hoisting-block, 
very handy for use in places remote from the crane. The 
Weston differential pulley-blocks lift from ^ to 10 tons, 
and with them one man may lift from 1000 to 5000 pounds, 
according to the kind of block employed. The load is 
held at any point and cannot run down, thus preventing 
all danger from accident by that source. See Crane. 



Hole. 207 Hollow-ware Moulding. 

Hole. — A foundry term for a pit or trench dug in the 
sand floor, in wliicli to mould a casting by the bedding-in 
process. Such a hole takes the place of cheeks and nowel 
parts of the flask. See Bedding iis" ; Pit. 

Hollow Metal Castings. — Hollow or shell cast- 
ings, in lead, tin, zinc, and their alloys, are obtained by 
using a brass mould, which is filled with metal, and, after 
due time has been allowed for a skin to congeal on the 
surface, inverted, to allow the molten portion to escape. 
What remains, forms a crust of metal answering to the 
form of the mould. See Statuary-founding. 

Hollow Shot are made similar to other hollow cast- 
ings, except that the flasks containing the moulds are re- 
versed a few times immediately the gates have set. This 
forces the fluid iron equally against the sides both in top 
and bottom parts, prevents flattening of the top side, and 
thus preserves a true spherical form in the casting. The 
same with solid shot : the moulds are reversed as soon as 
possible, which allows the fluid metal to first congeal on 
the sides and the shrinkage to be made good from the more 
fluid mass inside the ball, which naturally leaves the centre 
in a spongy condition, yet is preferable to a flattened upper 
surface. See Shot ; Projectiles ; Feeding. 

Hollow- ware Moulding is not necessaiily differ- 
ent from the moulding of other fine objects so far as the 
processes are concerned. This class of moulding is es- 
pecially confined to boilers, pots, pans, kettles, including 
all those cast vessels for domestic use. Owing to the neces- 
sity of having most of these patterns and flasks in sections, 
considerable ingenuity is exercised in their arrangement, 
and the patterns, usually of iron or brass, are elegantly 
fitted together and finished. The iron part-flasks are, in 



Homogeneous. 208 Hood. 

some instances, marvels of ingenuity ; tlie system of pins, 
latches, clamps, and runners being well worthy of copying 
by founders engaged in the production of castings that are 
similar in design and only differ in name. 

Homogeneous. — Of the same kind or nature; hav- 
ing similar parts; or, of elements of the like nature; as, 
Jiomogeneous particles, elements, or principles; homogene- 
ous bodies. 

Honeycombing is the peculiar phenomena present in 
the upper portion of cast-steel ingots and steel castings, as 
well as those of brass and cast iron. In some instances this 
is supposed to be clue to the liberation of imprisoned gases 
which, for the lack of pressure, remain within the mass of 
metal and form the honeycombing structure seen. Many 
schemes have been tried to prevent this, such as regulating 
the speed of pouring, temperature of metal for jiouring 
with, covering the top with sand, molten slag, etc.; also by 
the introduction of some alloy, as aluminum; but none of 
these seem to be as effective for this purpose as the method 
pursued by Sir Joseph Whitworth, which consists of sub- 
mitting the fluid metal to an enormous hydraulic pressure, 
which is maintained until the ingot has solidified. Some 
of the aluminum alloys have been credited with the ability 
to render steel castings perfectly sound, besides making 
the resultant steel tougher. Some claim that by using this 
alloy manganese can be discarded and time and fuel 
saved. See Pressing Fluid Steel; In'gots; Blisters; 
Blow-holes; Aluminum; Silicon. 

Hood is all that portion of the cupola shell which 
extends above the charging-hole. It is best to contract 
the hood in size somewhat, and carry it up sufficiently high 
to induce a good draught, wliich not only serves a good pur- 



Hook. 209 Horizontal Casting. 

pose in lighting up the first charges of fuel, but is a 
considerable auxiliary to the blower. See Cupola; Light- 
iN"G THE Cupola. 

Hook. — A forged piece of iron bent into a suitable 
curve for some purpose of catching, holding, or sustaining; 
such as the crane-hook, sling-hook, chain-hook, changing- 
hook, etc. The importance of making all such hooks well 
and of good material will suggest itself to those who know 
the risks which are taken daily in the foundry and else- 
where by men who must necessarily puss under and work 
in close proximity to loads suspended thereon. See Chain; 
Cranes. 

Hook-bolt. — A bolt, one end of which is threaded 
for a nut, the other turned as a liook, and used for various 
purposes in the foundry, such as binding portions of loam 
and dry-sand moulds together, anchoring cores in lower 
moulds, and suspending them in covering-plates and copes. 
See Anchor. 

Hoop-binder. — A substitute for the binding-plate 
in a brick cope, consisting of a length of hoop-iron with 
which to tie the course of brick. These may be used for 
ordinary purposes instead of binding-plates by turning a 
hook on each end of the hoop-iron, the hooks to meet 
within four inches round the brickwork, to be there tied 
with a few laps of softened wire, and brought up close by 
inserting a small pointed bar between the strands of wire 
and twisting them one on another. Another method is to 
rivet lugs on the ends and draw them together by means of 
a bolt. See Binding-plate; Cope. 

Horizontal Casting^. — AVhen a casting is poured 
endwise in the pit, it is cast vertically; if the same casting 
is poured flat on the floor, it is then cast horizontally. 



Horn gate. 210 Hot and Cold Blast. 

Horn-gate. —See Fountaii^-eunner. 

Horn - quicksilver. — The native subchloride of 
mercury. It occurs iu the mines of Idria in Carniola, and 
Almaden m Spain. See Mercury. 

Horse. — A common term for the trestle or stands 
used for blocking moukls in the foundry. See Stands; 
Trestle. 

Horse-manure. — A means for conveying gases from 
the loam used for building and coating the moulds and 
cores. The quality of sands and mixtures emploj^ed for 
this purpose is necessarily hard and unyielding, having 
little porosity, and must therefore be rendered porous by 
artificial means. Besides imparting porosity, the manure 
possesses a quality of stickiness which renders the sand or 
loam more cohesive, and it is for this reason that it is to be 
preferred to other substances, as coke-dust, sawdust, etc. , 
which are frequently used for this purpose. See Loam; 
Facing-sand; Venting. 

Hose. — A flexible pipe, made of rubber, leather, and 
various other flexible materials, for conveying fluids, espe_ 
cially water. When of good quality and properly cared for 
by providing reels to wind them on when not in use, and 
paying strict attention to the joints, they are a great help 
in the foundry, saving much time in carrying water to 
and fro. 

Hot and Cold Blast. — When the stream of air 
forced through a furnace is drawn direct from the atmos- 
phere, it is called cold-blast; when it is heated to 500° be- 
fore it enters the furnace, it is called hot-blast. The com- 
bustible gases which come from the stack are invariably 



House-bells. 211 Hydraulics. 

used to heat the air in a kind of oven built near the top of 
the stack, and surmounted by a chimney which draws off 
some portion. In this oven a series of pipes are built, 
around which the fire plays whilst the air is being forced 
through them before it enters the furnace. A considerable 
saving of heat is effected by this method, the reduction of 
the most refractory ores being accomplished in less time 
and with a less expenditure for fuel than the cold blast. 
As the melting metal necessarily comes in contact with less 
fuel, and as a less quantity of air enters the furnace, the 
chemical reactions are somewhat modified, but there does 
not seem to be any appreciable difference in the quality of 
the product. See Blast-furnace; Blast. 

House-bells. — A special mixture for this class of bells 
is copper 77, tin 21, antimony 2. See Bell-metal; Brass. 

Hundredweight signifies a weight of 112 lbs. avoir- 
dupois. Twenty of these, or 2240 lbs., make one ton. This 
weight is expressed by the abbreviation ciut. See ToN". 

Hydraulic Casting-press. — Used for the produc- 
tion of homogeneous steel. See Honeycombing ; Com- 
pressed Castings. 

Hydraulic Crane.— Invented by Sir William Arm- 
strong in 184G, who erected the first in Newcastle-on-Tyne. 
These cranes have come into very extensive use where water 
under sufficient pressure is available. But it would seem 
that the latter condition is now made unnecessary by the 
invention of the steam hydraulic crane. See Cranes. 

Hydraulics.— The science of hydraulics treats of 
liquids in motion, whether issuing from orifices, or running 
in pipes or the beds of streams. If an opening be made in 



Hydrocarbon Furnace. 212 Hydrogen. 

the side or bottom of a vessel containing a liquid, as molten 
metal, etc., the latter will at once be forced through it, as 
the particles at that point are acted upon by the pressure of 
those above. The rapidity of a stream flowing out of an ori- 
fice depends upon the depth of the latter below the surface 
of the liquid. A liquid issues from a given orifice with 
equal velocity as long as the liquid is kept at the same 
height in the vessel, but if the pressure is diminished by a 
lack of supply above, the liquid gets lower, with a propor- 
tionate diminution in the velocity of the stream. The 
weight of water or molten metal is as the quantity, but the 
pressure exerted is as the vertical height. Fluids exert an 
equal pressure in every direction; hence any vessel contain- 
ing a fluid sustains a pressure equal to as many times the 
weight of the column of greatest height of that fluid as the 
area of the vessel is to the sectional area of the column. 
See Pressure of Molteh Metal; Weightii^g Copes; 
Hydrostatic Bellows. 

Hydrocarbon Furnace. — A furnace having spe- 
cial burners suitable for using liquid fuel. The burners 
consist of an apparatus which allows a forced jet of air and. 
steam to carry with them a certain quantity of petroleum 
which is distributed into the furnace in the form of spray, 
and there burns with an intensity proportionate to the 
amount of fuel supplied. 

Hydrogen is the lightest substance known, and pos- 
sesses nearly all the properties of a non-metal in such per- 
fection, that chemists have long hesitated to class it with 
the metals, though its chemical relations clearly show it 
to belong to that class of elements. It combines with 
nearly every non-metal, but with only two or three of the 
metals. Hydrogen is colorless, tasteless, and inodorous 
when quite pure. It is inflammable, and burns with a pale 



Hydrostatic Balance. 213 Hydrostatic Bellows 

3^ellowisli flame, evolving much heat but very little light. 
The result of the combustion is water. It has never been 
liquefied, and is even less soUible in water than oxygen. It 
is incapable of sustaining life, but contains no poisonous 
properties. Hydrogen is never found free in nature, but 
exists abundantly in combination, forming one ninth by 
weight of water, and a considerable proportion of all organ- 
ized substances. It is the lightest of all known substances, 
being 16 times lighter than oxygen and 14J times lighter 
than air; its density is placed at 0.0692 referred to that of 
air as unity, 100 cubic inches weighing about 2.14 grains. 

Hydrostatic Balance. — A specific-gravity balance. 
See Specific Geavity; Specific-gkavity Balance. 

Hydrostatic Bellows is an apparatus which serves 
to explain that peculiar property of liquids, including 
molten iron, in virtue of which they transmit pressure in 
every direction. 

The hydrostatic bellows consists of two boards held to- 
gether by a band of rubber, which allows a bellows motion 
to take place when force is applied inside. These form an 
absolutely tight chamber, to which a small tube is attached 
by inserting it in the top side. The water is poured down 
the tube, and as the chamber fills the upper board rises 
with the pressure. If the surface of the board is fifty times 
as large as the end of the tube, one pound of water will 
balance fifty pounds of weight on the board. Because the 
surface of the cover is fifty times larger than the orifice of 
the tube, there are fifty times as many particles of water in 
contact with the board as there are at the end of the tube, 
and as each particle throughout the whole surface is made 
to exert the same pressure, one pound of water in the tube 
should balance fifty pounds on the board. 

If the moulder who may be unacquainted with these sub- 



Igneous Rocks. ^14 Impressions on Cast Iron. 

jects will carefully examine this apparent ^oaradox, and in 
his mind substitute for the tube a down-runner leading to 
a mould below, in which molten metal instead of water is 
to be poured, he will at once discover that the only differ- 
ence betwixt the two is the difference in weight of the water 
and the metal. This will enable him to realize why so 
small a runner will lift such a great weight. See Weight- 
li^G Copes ; Phessure of Molten Metal. 



Igneous Rocks include granitic, trappean, and vol- 
canic series, all of which rocks have been produced by 
fusion, on the surface, or in the interior, of the earth's 
crust. See Rock. 

Imitation Gold. — An alloy of baser metals which 
produces a yellow compound metal resembling gold. See 
Gold Alloy; Tombac. 

Imitation Silver. — An alloy of metals for manu- 
facturing articles of jewelry, etc., in artificial silver. An 
alloy having the same specific gravity as silver consists of: 
copper 11.71, platinum 2.4, silver 3.53. 

The following is a beautiful imitation silver that retains 
its brilliancy : Tin 4J, bismuth ^, antimony |, lead ^. 

Many other alloys of this description are given under 
their respective heads. See Silver Alloys; Mock Sil- 
ver; German-silver; Tombac. 

Imi^act. — An instantaneous blow communicated from 
a moving body to another body either moving or at 
rest. 

Impressions on Cast Iron.— See Embroidery 



Impurities in Cast Iron. 215 India Cast Steel. 

Impressions on Cast Iron ; Handwriting Impres- 
sions IN Cast Iron. 

Impurities in Cast Iron.— The chief impurities 
contained in cast iron are manganese, sulphnr, phosphorus, 
and silicon. Manganese tends to tlie formation of com- 
bined carbon, reduces tensile strength, produces brittle- 
ness, and makes slag. Except in very strong castings, 
manganese should not exceed 0.5 per cent of the mixture. 
Sulphur contributes to retain the carbon in the combined 
state, and promotes the formation of combined carbon. 
Foundry irons should not contain more than 0.1 per cent 
of this element. Phosphorus causes hardness by lowering 
the separation of graphite, but increases fluidity. From 
0.3 to 0.5 per cent of this element is all that should be al- 
lowed in foundry mixtures, unless cases where great fluid- 
ity, regardless of strength, is the chief desideratum. Sili- 
con increases fluidity, reduces Iiardness and shrinkage, by 
changing combined into graphitic carbon. Any addition 
of silicon after the bulk of the carbon has become STa- 
phi tic hardens the casting. Cast-iron mixtures may con- 
tain from 1.75 to 2.5 per cent of silicon. See Cast Iron; 
Silicon; Softeners. 

Incoherent. — Wanting in coherence or cobcsion ; 
unconnected; loose, not joined to each other, as the par- 
ticles in free sand. 

Incombustible.— Cannot be decomposed, burned, 
or consumed by fire. See Refractory Materials. 

India Cast Steel is a species of steel of extraordi- 
nary quality, and commonly called Wootz sfeel. It is im- 
ported into tliis country and Europe for the manufacture 
of fine edge instruments, etc. It is said that the cele- 



India-rubber. 216 India-rubber. 

bratecl Damascus blades were made of it. The process of 
making consists of melting small pieces of wrought iron, 
mixed with some twigs and dried mould, covered up well 
with green leaves, and luted. The crucibles are built in 
the form of a pyramid, inside the furnace, and exposed to 
a strong heat. The pieces of wootz, about as big as a wal- 
nut, are not disturbed until the crucible has cooled. The 
metal contains traces of silica and alumina, and about 
the maximum amount of carbon ordinarily found in steel. 
Wootz has been known throughout the East from remote 
antiquity. See Steel. 

India-rubber, or Gum-elastic, is the dried juice of 
tropical plants. It has a close resemblance to some of the 
gum resins, but differs from them in that the latter do not 
contain caoutchouc. This remarkable gum is supposed to 
have been discovered by a voyager on the second expedition 
of Columbus, who saw some natives of Hayti playing games 
with balls made from elastic gum. The india-rubber in- 
dustry began in earnest about the beginning of the eigh- 
teenth century on a very small scale, but in 1870 there 
were nearly 200 manufactories in America and Europe, 
who consumed annually more than ten million pounds of 
caoutchouc. India-rubber is composed of hydrogen and 
carbon. Dilute acids or alkalies do not act upon the gum; 
but it is oxidized and destroyed by concentrated nitric 
acid, and charred with strong, hot sulphuric acid. It is 
dissolved, more or less perfectly, in melted naphthaline, 
benzol, bisulphide of carbon, petroleum, and the oils, both 
fixed and volatile. It fuses at 250° F. Mr. Goodyear in- 
vented the system of vulcanizing this gum by incorporat- 
ing with it from 2 to 3 per cent of sulphur, which increases 
its elasticity and prevents it from adhering to the moulds 
when subjected to pressure. Carbonate of lead and nu- 
merous other substances are also added to india-rubber 



Indigo-copper. 217 Ingot. 

for the manufacture of some special goods. If immersed 
iu fused sulphur at 250° F., india-rubber absorbs 15 per 
cent of the sulphur and is not materially changed. If, 
however, it be now subjected for an hour to a temperature 
of 300° F., combination takes place, and vulcanized caout- 
chouc is the result. A further increase of temperature 
changes it to ebonite, or black vulcanite, a substance in 
great demand for tlie manufacture of countless articles in 
every-day use. If the sulphur be first dissolved in oil of 
turpentine, and this used for dissolving the india-rubber, 
the mixture remaining (after the turpentine has evapo- 
rated) will be india-rubber and sulphur, which substance 
can be readily pressed into plaster or metal moulds of any 
desired form, and the articles then vulcanized by subject- 
ing them for an hour to a temperature of 280" F. in a 
closed iron vessel into which steam at high pressure is ad- 
mitted. See Resii^. 

Inclig'O - copper. — A native sulphuret of copper, 
generally found uncrystallized, but sometimes occurring in 
hexagonal crystals. Its color is indigo-blue ; contains cop- 
per 66.5, sulphur 33.5 ; specific gravity 4.6. It is found 
in the lava of Vesuvius, Bolivia, and Chili. See Copper. 

Infusible. — Cannot be melted, dissolved, or infused. 
Proof against fusion, as an infusible sand or crucible. See 
Refractory Materials. 

Iiigate.— See Gate. 

Ingot. — A mass of metal which has been cast in a suit- 
able mould for convenience in subsequent working by the 
various processes of rolling, hammering, casting, etc. ; 
some consideration is also given to the best forms for ship- 
ping, etc. Copper is made into hrichs and ^;/^5; tin into 



Ingot. ^18 Ingot. 

blocks; zinc into calrs. These are all run into metal 
moulds wliicli give them their respective shapes. The 
blocks of commercial gold and silver are called bars. Cast 
iron is run direct from the smelting-furnace into moulds 
formed in an adjacent sand-bed, the product being pigs. 

Running or " teeming " steel ingots, produced by melt- 
ing blister-steel in crucibles, or from steel prepared by 
melting puddled steel with spiegeleisen or black oxide of 
manganese, if the ingots are small, is usually done by hand, 
by simply emptying the contents of the crucible direct into 
the cast-iron ingot-mould. If one crucible is insufficient 
to fill the mould the pots are doubled, that is, two crucibles 
are emptied into one larger, so that the one operation suf- 
fices ; but in larger-sized ingots it is often necessary to em- 
ploy two streams in order to secure an uninterrupted flow 
of steel into the mould. Extra-large ingots, made from 
this class of steel, are often run from one ladle by simply 
melting all the steel in the several crucibles and emptying 
their contents therein. The ladle employed for this pur- 
pose is clay or brick lined, and provided with a nozzle at 
tlie bottom, in which a gannister plug or stopper is fitted. 
This stopper is connected with a vertical rod attached to 
the arm for raising and lowering the stopper ; the rod itself 
being inside the ladle, is necessarily coated with about H 
inches of the gannister composition also. By this means a 
continuous stream of molten steel is delivered, clear of the 
mould sides, and without fear of intermission until the 
space is filled. 

This ladle, as just described, is the one used for running 
the steel ingots produced by the Bessemer process, only in 
this instance it is suspended on an arm which extends from 
the head of the hydraulic crane in the centre of the casting- 
pit. The ingot-moulds, being arranged in order around 
the outer diameter of this pit, are filled in succession by 
simply bringing the ladle directly over and allowing them to 



Ingot. 



219 Ingot. 



fill by witlidrawiiig the plug at tlie bottom. Sometimes 
these ingots are cast in groups arranged round a central 
one that is placed higher than the rest, and connected with 
the latter by means of a system of fire-clay runners which 
radiate from the central ingot, at the bottom, to as many 
as may be grouped around it. The steel in this case 
enters the central ingot at the top, and gradually fills all 
the rest from the bottom. 

Very large ingots, which are sometimes over 20 feet long 
and may weigh from 14 tons up, are preferably cast from 
the bottom, and suitable provision is made by forming a 
fountain-runner within a core made from a gannister and 
fire-clay mixture, which is set in the prepared bottom of 
the mould. One end of this runner extends past the ingot- 
casing, and is connected with a vertical cast-iron and gan- 
nister-lined runner-box, which, resting thereon, is made to 
project somewhat above the top of the ingot-casing. This 
casing usually consists of two wrought or cast iron half- 
circles, protected by a fire-brick lining coated with some 
refractory composition. These halves, when duly prepared, 
are bolted together, with a loam packing between the join- 
ing flanges, and then brought into a vertical positioii for 
setting down, on a soft loam packing also, upon the lower 
portion of mould already in the pit. Ingots of even 
larger dimensions are often made with a central core. 
Owing to the intense heat to which these cores are sub- 
jected, the ordinary preparations are simply valueless, as 
they are sure to be melted. To overcome this difficulty, 
the cores are made in one or more lengths, as desired, by 
ramming composition sand of a very refractory nature 
around an ordinary cage core-iron, the cast rings of which 
are not permitted to approach the surface by at least two 
inches. By this means a core is obtained containing the 
smallest amount of iron possible in its construction ; in fact 
it is, literally, a sand-core almost free from substances which 



Ingot-mould. 220 Intaglio. 

would be likely to melt. All such ingots are invariably run 
at the bottom. See Pressing Fluid Steel ; Reeking 
Ingot-moulds ; Running Steel Ingots. 

Ingot-mould. — The metal, sand, or fire-brick moulds 
in which metals are cast to form ingots suitable for manu- 
facturing and commercial purposes. The brass-founder's 
ingot-moulds are of cast iron, about two feet long and 
wide enough to form three tapered ingots 7 by 3 inches, 
or of a size suitable for stowing in the crucible for remel't- 
ing. The webs which divide such an ingot-mould into 
three are notched at the top, midway; this allows of each 
mould being filled without removing the crucible from 
that in which the metal is poured. See Ingot; Brass 
Scraps; Brass. 

Insect Casts in Metal.— To produce a perfect 
cast of an insect, animal, or vegetable in metal, it is only 
necessary to obtain a box large enough to hold whatever it 
is desired to produce, with a little space to spare. After 
suspending the object with strings in a suitable position, 
attach the vents and pouring-gate, and fill the space with 
a composition made from plaster of Paris 2 parts, and 
finely ground brick-dust or talc 1 part. The operation 
must be carefully performed. The whole is then gently 
dried, and afterwards made red-hot so as to reduce to fine 
ashes whatever was placed therein. The vents, being placed 
at all the extremities, are of assistance in blowing the ashes 
out at the running-gate, and these in conjunction with the 
holes made by the strings will permit all gas to escape 
when the metal is poured in at the gate. 

A good alloy for small objects cast after this manner is 
tin 6, lead 3, bismuth 2. 

Intaglio.— A kind of engraving distinguished from 



Iridium. 221 Iron Alloys. 

cameo by having the engraved figures sunk into the sub- 
stance instead of being raised in relief. Seals and other 
similar articles are engraved thus. See Eilieyo. 

Iridium. — A white brittle metal, which may be fused 
by means of a powerful oxyhydrogen blast-furnace. In its 
isolated form it is unacted upon by any acid or by aqua 
regia, but as an alloy it is dissolved in the latter fluid. Its 
specific gravity is 21.15. An alloy of iridium and osmium 
is very hard, and is used for pointing gold pens. See 
Metals. 

Iron. — Of all metals iron is the most important. The 
pure metal is found only in such rare instances as in the 
case of meteorites which have fallen from space. In South 
America and elsewhere isolated masses of soft malleable 
iron have been found loose upon the surface of the 
earth, and these too would seem to owe their origin to the 
same meteoric source. In these specimens of native 
metallic iron nickel is usually found. The presence of 
iron in an oxidized condition is universal : rocks and soils 
are colored by it, plants contain it, as also does the blood 
of the human body. Pure iron is very soft and tough, has 
a specific gravity of 7.8, is white, and has a perfect lustre. 
It may be observed that there always exists a very distinct 
fibrous texture in good bar-iron after it has been attacked 
with acid; the perfection of this fibre is what gives it 
strength. See Malleable Iroi^; Oast Ikon; Strength 
OF Materials. 

Iron Alloys. — Very few of the metals alloy with cast 
iron in such a manner as to be of any practical value to 
the founder. True, there is a marked difference in the 
resultant mixture by the addition of alloys, but it does not 
affect them favorably as a rule. By the addition of a 



Iron Carrier, Foundry. 222 Iron Carrier, Foundry. 

quarter of one per cent of copper, well stirred into the 
molten iron, a perceptible increase of density may be 
noticed, and the strength is increased somewhat. Again, 
if from 10 to 15 per cent of wrought scraps can be success- 
fully mixed with the cast iron after the latter has been 
melted the same improvements are apparent. Much is 
claimed for the aluminum fluxes now offered, but any 
opinion as to their worth would, at this early stage of their 
application, be premature. See Alloys; Aluminum; 
Gold. 

Iron Carrier, Foundry. — The Hayes patent 
carrier for molten metal is described as follows: There 
is a continuous overhead track, which runs from the 
cupola to the extreme end of the floors and return. The 
floor may be of any length; there is no carrying of iron 
by hand. On this track ladles of any cai^acity from four 
hundred to one thousand j^ounds may be carried. From 
these large ladles the iron is poured into smaller ones, 
into hand-ladles, or larger ladles with double handles. 

A very unique and simple device is used for pouring the 
iron into the hand-ladles, so that the moulder need not hold 
the weight of the hand-ladle while the iron is being poured 
from the large ladle into the small one. 

The cupola is not stopped up from the time the iron 
commences to run until all is out. The very unique 
arrangement of having a catch-ladle which swings into the 
stream and catches the flowing iron while the exchange of 
large ladles is being made, saves all the annoyance around 
the cupola, and catches all the iron. 

Moulders never need leave their floors. The iron is 
brought to them by common laboring men. The aj^paratus 
is simple, durable, and so perfectly safe that it frees the 
foundry from the mishaps that often occur by the old 
methods of distributing iron. 



Iron Furnace. 323 Isosceles Triangle. 

Iron Furnace. — A furnace iu whicli some openition 
connected Avitli the manufacture of cast iron, malleable iron, 
or steel is conducted ; as cupola, smelting, reverberatory 
furnaces, etc. The several furnaces em23lo3'ed for this pur- 
pose will be found described in their regular order. 

Iron-lustre. — This lustre is obtained by dissolving 
zinc in muriatic acid, and mixing the solution with spirit 
of tar. To be applied on the surface of the iron. 

Iron-statue Moulding. — Moulding statuary in 
iron. This branch of the art is necessarily more difficult 
than any other of the processes followed for the produc- 
tion of statuary in bronze, because the materials used for 
moulding with are less rigid, and demand more skill in 
their manipulation as a consequence. The core is built by 
the moulder, on which the sculptor carves his model in 
clay or wax, after which the moulder builds his cope around 
it in sections ; the latter, when sufficiently hardened, are 
lifted away, the thickness removed, and the whole mould 
finished, dried, closed together, and cast like any other 
ordinary piece of loam -work. See Statue-foukdi^stg. 

Iron-wire Cloth. — See Wire-cloth. 

Isinglass. — A very pure form of gelatine prepared 
from the entrails and air-bladders of fish, notably the stur- 
geon. It is semi-transparent when pure, and this may 
j^erhaps account for applying the name to the sheets of 
mica employed for sight-holes of cupolas, stoves, etc. 

Isinglass is an excellent material for making elastic 
moulds for obtaining plaster casts. See Elastic Moulds. 

Isosceles Triangle is a triangle which has two 
equal sides, 



Ivory-imitation. 224 Japanese Bronze-work. 

Ivory-iniitatioii. — A good imitation of ivory statu- 
ettes may be obtained by casting into luarm plaster-moulds 
a mixture composed of finely pulverized egg-sliells, isin- 
glass, and alcohol. See Plastee Casts. 



J. 

Jacket-core. — The ^core which forms the space be- 
twixt inner and outer shells of a jacketed casting, as a 
jacketed cylinder, etc. Sometimes these shells are joined 
together by studs at intervals, in which case the core must 
invariably be made in one piece, and vented at the top 
through holes purposely made in the casting for this pur- 
pose, but which are subsequently plugged. If a convenient 
branch, etc., offers the opportunity for making adequate 
vent connections, the labor of plugging is saved. 

When the shells are joined by parallel webs the jacket- 
core is divided into as many segments as there are webs, 
and each core is vented separately. 

In the former case a cage or skeleton core-iron serves to 
construct the core; the latter needs only a centre web with 
protruding wings. 

For constructing a whole jacket-core the dummy-block 
is a cheap and effective device ; a narrow core-box is all 
that is necessary for the web-jacket. See Dummy-block ; 
Skeletok ; CoiiE-iRON" ; Venting. 

Jacketed Cupola.— See Water-jacket Cupola. 

Japanese Bronze- work. — The art of working in 
bronze is a very old one in Ja2:)an. The whole process of 
casting is done by the artist himself, who forms his moulds 
from models designed in a mixture of wax and resin which 
is melted out of the prepared mould previous to the final 
pouring of the metal. By this means, castings are obtained 



Jasper. /O/vO Jobbing-pipe. 

of every description, from statues of all sizes down to the 
most intricate and delicate tracery, which is elaborated with 
scrupulous care, requiring, in some instances, months to 
prepare the mould. 

The Japanese add tin, zinc, lead, and iron to their bell 
mixtures. Their small bells contain copper 60, tin 24, 
zinc 9, iron 3. Large bells are composed of copper 60, 
tin 18, lead 12, zinc 6, iron 3. The mixture is called 
Kara-Kane. See Bro^tzes. 

tJasjjer. — Like carnelian, agate, and chalcedony, this 
mineral is chiefly composed of silex, but it always contains 
more iron, and hence, instead of being translucent, like 
them, it is always opaque. Its colors are red, yellow, and 
brown ; specific gravity 2.70. Its composition is silex 75, 
alumina 0.5, lime 0.02, iron 13. It is infusible. See 
Pkecious Stones. 

Jet-cupola. — See Steam-jet Cupola. 

Jib-crane. — See Cranes. 

Jobbing-moulder. — A moulder whose superior at- 
iainments enable him to mould more than one class of 
castings. Such qualifications are acquired only by perse- 
verance and industrious practice in many foundries, which 
not only differ in the class of castings produced generally, 
but differ also in their modes of producing the same casting. 
Moulders that are engaged exclusively on stove-plate, 
hollow-ware, snap-work, etc., are naturally unable to do 
this ; hence are distinguished as stove-moulder, hollow- 
moulder, snap-moulder, etc. See Technical Education 
FOR THE Moulder. 

Jobbing-i)ipe. — A technical term for all pipes that 



Joint. 226 Kara-Kane. 

are irreguLir in form, incliuliiig elbows, turns, branch, and 
numerous others, which must of necessity be moulded by 
such means as are most convenient for the occasion, without 
reference to cost, etc. Pipes of this character are usually 
made in the most approved fashion by skilled moulders 
who work by the day ; while the regular trade straight 
lengths are made, as a rule, by unskilled labor, in vertical 
casings that are so elaborately mounted as to preclude any 
possibility of going astray. See Cast-irok Pipes ; Job- 

BIKG-MOULDER. 

Joint. — A common name for the point of separation in 
moulds. When two halves of a core are placed together 
the joining surfaces form the joint ; so in flasks cope and 
drag meet together at the joint. See Parting. 

Joint-board. — See Match-board ; Parting. 

Journal-box Metal.— See Anti-frictioi^ Metals ; 
Babbitt Metal ; Brass. 

K. 

Kaolin. — A pure white clay resulting from the decom- 
position of feldspar in granitic rocks. The materials em- 
ployed by the Chinese for the manufacture of porcelai'n 
are known to be Jiaolin, pctAintze, or quartz reduced to a 
fine powder; and the ashes of fern, which contain potassic 
cai"bonate. 

Kaolin is used extensively for the manufacture of clay 
crucibles for steel melting, being mixed with equal quan- 
tities of Stourbridge clay and some old pot and coke-dust. 
See Crucible; Feldspar. 

Kara-Kane. — The name given by the Japanese to 
their celebrated bronze mixtures for bells. See Japa]S"ese 

BROi^ZE-WORK. 



Keep's Testing-macliine. 227 

Keep's Testing - iiiticliine, 

CHINES. 



£iln. 
See Testing-ma- 



Keim's Water-jacketed Cupola.— Sec Water- 
jacketed Cupola. 



Kettle. — A vessel of iron or other metal used for tlie 
purpose of heating or boiling liquids, or melting metals. 
The common method of moulding a kettle with the spindle 
and sweep-board is to first strike a core, answering to the 
inside, upon a foundation-plate ; then strike a sand thick- 
ness over it corresponding to the outside, the impression of 
which is taken in the cope built on a surrounding cope- 
ring that bears the whole outside structure. After separa- 
tion, the thickness is removed and moulds finished, when 
the cope is returned to its place, and, after due prepara- 
tion, the space is filled with molten metal. 

The following table shows the weight of spherically 
shaped kettles when the depth is equal to half the diameter 
of core, and one inch thick : 



Inside di- 
ameter in 
inches. 


36 


42 


48 


54 


60 


66 


72 


78 


84 


90 


96 


102 


108 


114 


120 


Weight 
in pounds. 


590 


79, 


1022 


1281 


1570 


1889 


2237 


2614 


302-1 


3457 


3923 


4418 


4492 


5496 


6079 



See Spindle; Sweep-board; Foukdation-plate ; Cope- 
KiiTG; Thickness; Casing. 

Kiln. — An oven or stove which may be heated for the 
purpose of drying, hardening, or burning anything. Kilns 
are used for roasting or calcining iron ores, with the view 
of expelling water, sulphur, and volatile or other matters 
which under the influence of heat, or the combined action 
of heat and atmospheric air, are capable of volatilization, 
and to free the ore from these constituents and leave it 



Kish. 228 Lacquering. 

porous; in which condition it is more readily acted upon 
by the flame and gases of the blast-furnace. See Oal- 
cin^atiok; Weatherin^g Ores. 

Kish. — When rich gray iron in a state of fusion is per- 
mitted to cool very slowly, a graphitic substance, resembling 
plumbago, gradually separates itself from the molten mass. 
This substance is called bish, and is composed of carbon, 
sulphur, and manganese in varying proportions. This phe- 
nomenon evidences the inability of the metal to hold as 
much carbon, etc., in solution at a low temperature as at a 
greater heat. The same metal, if run into moulds at a greater 
heat, and allowed to solidify rapidly, would retain the most 
of this carbon either in the graphitic or combined state, or 
both. See Graphite in- Pig-iron ; Cast Irois". 

Krupi)'s Crucibles for Steel.— See Crucibles. 

Kustitieii's Tinning Metal. — Malleable iron 1 
pound; heat to whiteness; add 5 ounces of antimony, and 
tin 24 pounds. See Tinnikg. 

L. 

Laboratory, — A place where operations and experi- 
ments in chemistry, pharmacy, pyroteclmy, etc., are per- 
formed. 

Lac— See Shell-lac. 

Lace Impressions on Cast Iron. — See Em- 
broidery Impressions on Oast Iron ; Handwriting 
Impressions on Cast Iron. 

Lacquering. — Lacquers are varnishes applied upon 
brass, tin, and other metals to prevent them from tarnish- 



Lacquering. 229 Lacquering; 

ing, and should always be applied soon after the process of 
bronzing or dipping. Their basis is a solution of seed-lac 
in alcohol. About 3 ounces of powdered shelhlac are added 
to a pint of the spirit, and the mixture allowed to digest 
with a moderate heat. The liquor, after being cleared by 
settling, is strained and poured off, and is then ready 
to receive the required coloring substances, the chief of 
which are annotto, dragon^s-blood, gamboge, saffron, and 
turmeric. 

If the brass or other metal to be lacquered be old and 
dirty, make a strong lye of wood-ashes, which may be 
strengthened by soap-lees; put in the old brass-work, and 
the original lacquer and dirt will fall off. It must then be 
immersed in a mixture of nitric acid and water strong 
enough to eradicate the dirt ; after which, wash in clean 
water, and it is ready for the lacquer. If the work is 
new, take off the dust and polish with chamois leather 
before applying the lacquer. The work to be lacquered 
must be subjected to a moderate heat; then, holding it in 
the pincers, apply the preparation with a soft brush, tak- 
ing pains to cover the whole surface by a gentle pressure 
of the brush in one direction. The following are some 
mixtures for lacquers : 

Gold Lacquer. — Seed-lac, 3 ounces ; turmeric, 1 ounce ; 
dragon's-blood, \ ounce ; alcohol, 1 pint. Digest for a 
week, frequently shaking ; decant and filter. 

Darh Gold Lacquer. — Strongest alcohol, 4 ounces; Span- 
ish annotto, 8 grains ; powdered turmeric, 2 drams; red- 
sanders, 12 grains. Infuse and add shell-lac, etc., and 
when dissolved add 30 drops spirits of turpentine. 

Brass Lacquer. — Shell-lac, 8 ounces; sandarac, 2 ounces; 
annotto, 2 ounces; dragon's-blood, J ounce; spirits of wine, 
1 gallon. 

Bronzed Dip2^ed Work. — Alcohol, 12 gallons ; seed-lac, 9 



Lacquering. ^30 Lacquering, 

pounds; turmeric, 1 pound to the gallon; Spanish saffron, 
4 ounces. If for a light lacquer, the saffron may be omitted. 

Tin-plate Lacquer. — Alcohol, 8 ounces; turmeric, 4 
drams; hay-saffron, 3 scruples; dragon's-blood, 4 scruples; 
red-sanders, 1 scruple; shell-lac, 1 ounce; gum-sandarac, 2 
drams ; gum-mastic, 2 drams ; Canada balsam, 2 drams; 
when dissolved add spirits of turpentine, 80 drops. 

Iron Lacquer. — Amber, 12; turpentine, 12; resin, 2; 
asphaltum, 2; drying oil, 6. 

Iron Lacquer. — Asphaltum, 3 pounds; shell-lac, J pound; 
turpentine, 1 gallon. 

Red Lacquer. — Spirits of wine, 2 gallons; dragon Vblood, 
1 pound ; Spanish annotto, 3 pounds ; gum-sandarac, 4J 
pounds; turpentine, 2 pints. Made as pale brass lacquer. 

Pale Brass Lacquer. — Spirits of wine, 2 gallons; Cape 
aloes, 3 ounces; fine pale shell-lac, 1 pound; gamboge (cut 
small), 1 ounce. Digest for a week, shake frequently, de- 
cant, and filter. 

Pale Tin Lacquer. — Strongest alcohol, 4 ounces ; pow- 
dered turmeric, 2 drams; hay-saff'ron, 1 scruple ; dragon's- 
blood in powder, 2 scruples; red-sanders, ^ scruple. In- 
fuse this mixture in the cold for 48 hours, pour off the 
clear and strain the rest ; then add powdered shell-lac, | 
ounce; sandarac, 1 dram; mastic, 1 dram; Canada balsam, 
1 dram. Dissolve this in the cold by frequent agitation, 
laying the bottle on its side to present a greater surface to 
the alcohol. When dissolved, add 40 drops of spirits of 
turpentine. 

Lacquers of Various Tints. — To 32 ounces of spirits of 
turpentine add 4 ounces of the best gum-gamboge, to 
the same quantity of spirits of turpentine add 4 ounces of 
dragon's-blood, and to 8 ounces of the same spirits add 
1 ounce of annotto. The three mixtures, made in separate 
vessels, should be kept warm, and as much as possible in 



ladles. 231 Ladles. 

the suii, for three weeks, at the end of which time they will 
be fit for use ; and any desired tints may be obtained by 
making a composition from them with such proportions of 
each liquor as the nature of the colors desired will point 
out. 

Ladles. — The business of making foundry ladles has, 
yirtually, been monopolized by the numerous manufactur- 
ers of these and other foundry supplies, who are ready to 
supply every description of ladle at prices astound ingly 
lower than is possible for private firms to produce them — 
from a small hand-ladle holding 35 pounds, to the more 
ponderous ones that are controlled with the greatest ease 
by improved devices, making it possible to operate with 
the minimum of help even the largest ones. 

The following table gives depth and diameter, inside the 
lining, of ladles to hold from 50 pounds to 16 tons : 
Capacity. Diameter. Depth. 

16 tons 54 inches. 56 inches. 

14 " 52 " 53 '' 

12 " 49 '' 50 " 

10 " 46 '' 48 '' 

8 " 43 '' 44 " 

6 '' 39 " 40 " 

4 " 34 " 35 " 

3 " 31 '' 32 " 

2 " 27 " 28 '' 

1 " 22 '' 22 '' 

i " 17 " 17 " 

i " 13^ '' 131 << 

300 pounds llj '' 11| " 

200 " 10 '' lOJ '' 

100 '' 8 '' qI '' 

50 « 6^ " 61 ^^ 

25 " 5 '' 51 " 

See Lip. 



Lake Ore-iron. 332 Lead. 

Lake Ore-iron. — Hydrated peroxide of iron is de- 
posited in large quantities by certain lakes in Sweden and 
Norway. It is similar in composition to the bog iron-ore 
found in other parts of Europe. See Bog Iroj^-ore. 

Lamellar. — Consisting of thin or extended plates, 
layers, or scales; distributed or disposed in thin, filmy 
processes. 

Lampblack consists of a very fine description of 
infinitely divided charcoal. It is commonly made by heat- 
ing in an iron vessel vegetable matters rich in carbon, in- 
cluding tar and resins, the vapors of which are burnt in a 
current of air insufficient for complete combustion; conse- 
quently the hydrogen burns away and leaves the carbon 
behind in a finely divided condition on the walls of the 
chamber, which are hung with coarse cloths. Lampblack 
thus obtained invariably contains more or less unburnt 
resinous or fatty matters. When it is required to obtain a 
small quantity of very fine lampblack, it may be done by 
holding a cold plate over a common gas flame until suffi- 
cient has been deposited. See Carbon; Charcoal. 

Lantern. — A term applied to a temporary drying ap- 
paratus for moulds during their course of construction. It 
is oftentimes called a lamp or drying-kettle. See Dryin"G- 

KETTLE. 

Lapidary. — One who cuts, polishes, or engraves gems 
or precious stones. See Precious Sto:n"es. 

Lead. — Ores of lead occur in great abundance in al- 
most all parts of the world. They are generally in veins, 
sometimes in siliceous rocks, sometimes in calcareous rocks. 
Abundant Scripture testimony proves the existence of this 



lead. 233 lead. 

metal in olden times, and we are informed that the Eo- 
mans used sheet-lead in the manufacture of water-pipes. 
The metal is very heavy but soft, is of a bluish-gray color, 
of great brilliancy. The specific gravity of lead is 11.35, 
and it melts at 617°. Almost all the lead of commerce is 
obtained ivom galena (sulphide of lead). It is then pickled, 
broken, and waslied, and afterwards roasted, to eliminate 
the sulphur. Lead is an important metal in the arts. 
Boiled into sheets it is used for roofing houses, for cis- 
terns and pipes. It is also of great service in the con- 
struction of large chambers for the manufacture of sul- 
phuric acid; its value for making shot is well known. 

Lead enters into many very useful alloys, as with lis- 
mnth for fusible alloys, ^\i\\ antimony for type-metal, with 
arsenic for shot, with tin for pewter and solders, with 
copper for pot-metal — for which compound it cannot be 
used more than one half lead, as it separates in cooling. 
AVith zinc it will scarcely unite, but their union may be 
brought about by a small proportion of arsenic. Many of 
the numerous alloys for mechanical and other purposes are 
improved by certain proportions of lead, and very few 
mixtures but may be made more fusible, malleable, and 
sharper in the cast by a slight addition of this metal ; but 
with gold it forms an alloy of extreme brittleness ; J of a 
grain of lead will render an ounce of gold perfectly brittle, 
although both gold and lead are such soft and ductile 
metals. The ductility of copper at any temperature is 
impaired by tlie use of lead. Alloyed with silver, the 
metals will separate if slowly cooled from the melting 
point. It does not appear that cast iron and lead alloys 
will answer any useful purpose. 

Of the compounds of lead other than alloys we have 
white-lead or carbonate of lead, and red-lead or red oxide 
of lead, the latter being much used in the manufacture of 
flint-glass and porcelain. 



lead-ladle. 234 leaf Gold. 

The various alloys of wbicl) lead forms a component 
part will be found under the following heads : Fusible 
Alloys; Type-metal; Lead-shot; Pewter; Solder; 
Pot-metal; Bismuth; Ajttimoky; Arsenic; Tin"; Cop- 
per; Alloys; Brass; Anti-friction Metals; White- 
lead ; Red-lead. 

lieacl-ladle. — Ladles for melting and pouring lead 
may be of cast or wrought iron, of any dimension or form 
best adapted to the purpose for which they are to be used. 

Lead-pipe. — See Sheet Lead. 

•Lead-shot. — The common method of making small 
lead-shot is as follows : The melted lead is made to fall 
through the air from a considerable elevation, and thus 
leaden rain, as it were, is solidified into leaden hail or shot. 
The tower in which the manufacture takes place is about 
180 feet high, 30 feet diameter at the base, and 15 feet at 
the top. The melting is conducted at the top in brick 
furnaces built against the wall, the lead is rained down 
from a colander, through a central opening into a water- 
tank below. The size of the shot is regulated by the mesh 
of the colander, the latter being a hollow hemisphere of 
sheet iron about 10 inches in diameter. When the shot 
are taken out of the water they are dried upon metal-plates, 
that are heated by steam, and the imperfect ones are sepa- 
rated from those that are spherical. 

The addition of a slight proportion of arsenic to the lead 
used for shot helps it to solidify, as well as rendering it 
more fluid. 

The alloy for lead-shot is lead 56, arsenic 1. See Lead; 
Arsenic; Hollow-shot. 

Leaf Grold.— See Gold. 



Level. 235 



lever. 



Level is an instrument used to discover a line parallel 
to the horizon, and to continue it at pleasure. Water-level 
shows this horizontal line by means of a surface of water or 
other fluid, found on the principle that water always places 
itself level or horizontally. 

The common mason's level consists of a long parallel 
straight-edged ruler, in the middle of which is fitted, at 
right angles, another broader one, at the top of which is 
suspended a plummet, which, when it hangs over the mid- 
dle line of the upright piece, shows that the base or horizon- 
tal ruler is level. The spirit-level in common use amongst 
moulders has brass side-views, brass top, and end-plates and 
corners, protected by ^-inch-square rods extending the 
entire length of the rosewood staff. The tube, which con- 
tains alcohol, is slightly curved, and the straight edge of the 
instrument is tangent to it. For instructions to level a bed 
on the foundry floor, see Bed. 

Lever. — The lever is the simplest of all machines, and 
is only a straight bar of iron, wood, or other material, sup- 
ported on and movable round a prop called the fulcrum, 
and having the weight to be moved and the power to move 
it applied at two other points. The law is that the poicer 
and weight are in the inverse ratio of their distances from 
the fulcrum. This is equally true for straight or bent 
levers, and holds good whatever be the relative positions 
of the power, weight, and fulcrum ; and as there can be 
three different arrangements of these, we thus obtain what 
are called the three kinds of levers. The first kind is 
where the fulcrum is placed between the power and the 
weight; levers of the second kind are those in which the 
weight is betwixt the power and the fulcrum; in levers of 
the third kind the power is betwixt the weight and the 
fulcrum. To produce equilibrium in levers of the first 
kind, the power may, according to the ratio of the lengths 



Levigation. 236 Lighting the Cupola. 

of the arm, be either greater or less than the weight: ia 
tlie second kind it must always be less, and in the third 
kind always greater. 

Levigation.— See Tritueation". 

Lift. — When two parts of a flask are separated the 
operation is called lifting. Should the separation be a 
clean one, it is termed a good lift, and a had lift if much 
repairing is necessary. When the parting extends much 
below the joint, it is then a deep lift. See Gaggers ; 
Chocks ; Parting. 

Lifter.— See Cleaner. 

Lifting-tongs. — A form of tongs with which to lift 
a crucible out of the furnace. They should always be 
strong, and of various sizes, so that each crucible has its 
own tongs which grips it closely all round. For large cruci- 
bles it is preferable to clasp them above and below with 
tongs that have double prongs, and an eye should be forged 
on the end of one leg. By this means a small crane may 
be employed for hoisting out the crucible when full of 
metal, — a readier and much safer method than struggling 
to withdraw it by hand. See Crucible. 

Lighting the Cupola.- Success in cupola-melting 
depends, to some extent, upon the manner of starting the 
fire. Carelessness in this particular may result in there 
being more or less of the fuel in a semi-cold condition ly- 
ing upon the bottom when the molten iron begins to fall 
from above. This naturally dulls the iron at the be- 
ginning, and may exert a bad effect upon the heat all 
through. It should be the aim of the cupola-man to have 
a clear, bright fire upon the bed before the blast is admit- 
ted, so that hot fluid metal will show at the first tap. In 



Lighting the Cupola. 237 Lighting the Cupola. 

order to accomplish this, some attention should be paid to 
the kind of wood used for kindling with, as well as to the 
manner of distributing it at the bottom of the cupola ; 
short pieces are the best, as they can be arranged with a 
view to preserving the sand bottom intact ; and, whilst it is 
absolutely necessary to preserve a good free passage for air, 
yet it is well to prevent, as much as possible, any of the 
coal or coke from falling to the bottom before it has become 
thoroughly ignited. If old wood is used, let it be freed 
from every particle of sand, otherwise a slaggy bottom is 
the result from the start. Nails, spikes, and other malle- 
able-iron fastenings, usually so plentiful in old foundry 
chips and lumber, should be carefully extracted before such 
wood is used for kindling with, as if left in any consider- 
able quantity the nature of the iron is changed for a length 
of time proportionate to the amount of wrought iron intro- 
duced. Dirty kindling-wood and rusty nails have much to 
answer for at some foundries. Intelligent operation will 
soon discover just liow much wood is needed to thoroughly 
ignite the coal or coke, so that only enough is used; any 
addition to this is wilful waste. For igniting coal, more 
wood will be required than for coke, and a little more time 
must be allowed for kindling a coal-stock. Whilst it is 
very important that the bed fuel be thoroughly ignited 
before the charging begins, it is not by any means a wise 
method to permit the stock to become white-hot before 
introducing the first charge of iron ; when once it is sure 
that the fire has spread evenly all through the fuel, and is 
about to strike tlirough the top, the iron may then be 
charged. By this means the heat, which in the former 
case escapes uninterrupted up the stack, is utilized for 
raising the temperature of the iron charged before it has 
reached the melting-point, the result being quicker melting 
and hotter metal. See Cupola; Hood; Charging the 
CoMMOi^ Cupola. 



Lime. 238 Limestone-flux. 

Ijiine. — Lime is found in every part of the known 
world, the purest kinds being limestone, marble, and chalk. 
None of these substances however are lime, but are capa- 
ble of becoming so by burning in a white heat. Pure lime 
may also be obtained by dissolving oyster-shells in muriati?c 
acid. See Limestone ; Maeble ; Chalk ; Lime-kiln ; 
Flux ; Oyster-shells. 

Lime-kiln. — An oven or a pit, built of brick, with an 
interior lining of fire-brick. Intermittent kilns are such as 
have the fuel on the bottom and the stone above it, making 
it necessary to withdraw every charge. Running kilns are 
usually in the form of an inverted cone, and are charged 
with alternate layers of fuel and stone, so that the lime is 
withdrawn at the bottom as it is burned, fresh fuel and 
stone being constantly served at the top. 

The process of burning expels the water and carbonic- 
acid gas from the stone, which falls to pieces on exposure 
to the air after removal from the kiln, and crumbles into a 
white flaky powder which is called quicklime, or slaked 
lime, and is possessed of highly caustic properties. See 
Limestone ; Lime. 

Limestone. — The name given to all rocks which are 
composed to a great extent of carbonate of lime. The chief 
varieties of limestone are chalk ; oolite, compact limestone 
of the hard, smooth, fine-grained rock, of a bluish-gray 
color; crystalline limestone; and statuary marble. Mag- 
nesian limestone or dolomite is a rock in which carbonate 
of magnesia is mixed with carbonate of lime. See Dolo- 
mite. 

Limestone-flux. — When the blast-furnace is in 
operation it is regularly fed with definite proportions of 
fuel, ore, and broken limestone. The latter is added as a 



Lining Ladles. 239 Liquid Bronze. 

flux to render the iron more fusible, and, by conibiniug 
with tlie impurities in the ore, prevent the formation of 
compounds containing iron, thus effecting a saving of 
metal. See Cast Iron; Flux; Slag; Ore. 

Lining* Ladles.— The process of daubing loam or 
ramming sand on the inner surface to protect them from 
the action of the molten metal. 

All ladles above 8 tons capacity should have a fire-brick 
lining all through ; below this, if the ladle bottom is per- 
forated to let out the steam, a fire-sand bottom, rammed 
over one inch in depth of fine cinders, will serve, one inch 
of daubing being sufficient for the sides. See Daubing ; 
Ingots ; Ladles. 

Lining-metal for Journal-boxes.— See Anti- 
friction Metals. 

Lining of the Cupola. — The inner structure of 
fire-bricks built within the shell of a cupola to protect it 
from the intense heat during the process of melting. See 
Cupola; Repairing the Cupola; Daubing; Fire-brick; 
Grouting. 

Lip is that part of a ladle-shell over which the metal 
falls as the process of pouring takes place. To regulate the 
stream of molten metal, and maintain it unbroken, is of 
great importance when numbers of various-sized basins 
must be served from one ladle ; a little experimenting will 
soon discover which form is the most suitable. See 
Ladles. 

Liquid.— See Fluid. 

Liquid Bronze. — See Stains for Metals. 



Liquid Fuel. 240 Loam. 

Liquid Fuel.— Liquid fuel, as petroleum, is used in 
a furnace specially constructed for the purpose. The oil is 
forced into the fire-box along with air or steam. Some 
have an injection placed above the fire-door, through which 
the liquid hydrocarbon is introduced. A cock regulates 
the supply, and at the mouth of the orifice superheated 
steam is associated with the petroleum at a temperature of 
600° F. The hot ashes on the grate-bars receive the com- 
bined spray, and ignition takes place. See Fuel; Petro- 
leum. 

Litliarg^e is the fused oxide of lead. See Eed-leap. 

Lixiviation. — The process of extracting alkaline 
salts from ashes by pouring water on them. 

LiOadstoue, or natural magnet, is a species of iron 
ore found in many parts of the earth. Its property of at- 
tracting small pieces of iron was known to the Greeks at 
an early date, and the Chinese have been acquainted with 
its wonderful directive power from very remote ages. 
When this wonderful ore has been carefully examined, it 
is found that some points possess greater magnetic force 
than others. The attractive points are the poles of the 
magnet, which, if rubbed in a particular manner on a 
hardened steel bar, its characteristic properties will be 
communicated to the bar, which will then attract filings 
like itself; particularly is this the case with the two ends 
of the bar. The bar is then said to be magnetized. For 
general purposes these bars are bent in the form of a horse- 
shoe, which admits of the two poles being brought into 
contact with the object to be lifted. See Magnet. 

Ijoani. — Foundry ioam is a mixture of sand with clay 
and some form of venting medium. 

Kef ractory fire-sands suitable for loam are of themselves 



Loam-board. 241 Loam-board. 

too friable to form a compact, hard body. Clay is there- 
fore added to impart adhesiveness, with some accompaiiy- 
iDg substance, as manure, etc., to counteract its imporous 
quality, and leave the mixture when dry a hard, unyield- 
ing substance, that is permeated with countless small holes 
through which the surface gas finds its way to the exterior. 

The proportion of clay employed must be regulated by 
the class of castings the loam is for. 

The following mixtures are for ordinary use in almost 
any foundry, and any sands which approximate in their 
nature to the general run of Jersey, fire, and moulding 
sands will answer. If the castings are unusually light, as 
thin plate castings in loam, the clay-water should be pro- 
portionately thinner. 

Hand-made Loam for Loam-moulds and Core-barrels. — 
Fire-sand, 5 ; moulding-sand, 2 ; horse-manure, 1-|. Mix 
with thick clay-water. 

Mill-made Loam for Loam-moulds and Core-barrels. — 
Fire-sand, 7 ; moulding-sand, 2 ; horse-manure, 2. Mix 
with thick clay-water, and grind no longer than is neces- 
sary to mix the ingredients intimately together. See 
Horse-manure; Venting; Facing-sand; Loam-mill. 

Loam-board is a technical term for any strichle, 
strike, stveep, or templet, so called, that may be employed 
for forming some part of a mould in loam; whether it be 
drawn along by the hands of a moulder horizontally, as 
for a pipe, attached to a centre-spindle to form circular 
moulds vertically, or be secured fast whilst the mould or 
core rotates past it, as for cores, both horizontal and 
vertical. 

Such boards should be bevelled on the edge, using the 
sharp edge for roughing up and the opposite way for skin- 
ning. See Sweep-board ; Roughing-up ; Strickle ; 
Loam. 



Loam-bricks. 242 Loam-mill. 

Loain-bricks are made in cast-iron moulds. The 
moulds being set on a smooth plate in the oven are filled 
witli stiff loam and allowed to remain until dry. They are 
then useful for fashioning into cores with the saw and file, 
or may be used for building in parts where, on account of 
their rigidity, the ordinary bricks would interfere with 
the free contraction of the casting. The loam-bricks, 
being less rigid, yield readily to the pressure. See Loam. 

LiOain-cake. — Flat cores, made by simply spreading 
loam of a stiff nature on a plate in the oven. They may 
be made any thickness desired, and strengthened by thrust- 
ing within the mass a few iron rods. These cakes make 
excellent covering cores. See Loam. 

liOam-naill is any contrivance for mixing well to- 
gether the ingredients of which loam is composed. The 
object is not so much to grind to a fine consistency as it is 
to thoroughly mix the clay and manure with the sand, so 
that every portion of the loam may be alike open in its na- 
ture. If the loam is ground too much by very heavy roll- 
ers, the clay becomes too intimately incorporated with the 
overground sand, the grains of which have been crushed 
into fine powder, resulting in a pasty mass which, when it 
yields its water, shrinks on the surface of the mould, leav- 
ing cavities and cracks which are difficult to correct, and 
always leave a map-like appearance on the casting. By 
retaining as much as possible the original coarseness of 
the ingredients the shrinkage spoken of is distributed 
equally throughout the surface, and is not noticed at all. 
Another evil which attends the use of all over-ground loam 
is, that, being less porous, the gases generated by the molten 
metal have greater difficulty in escaping in a legitimate 
manner, and hence force their way into the mould, creat- 
ing great commotion, and sometimes carrying off portions 



Loam-moulding. 243 Loam-patterns. 

of the mould surface, making scabs. See Loam ; Vent- 
ing. 

Loam - moulding. — Loam-moulding differs from 
sand-moidding in that the moulds proper are not contained 
in flasks, or bedded in the floor, bnt are constructed in sec- 
tions composed of rings, plates, and brickwork. Another 
chief difference is tliat sand-moulds are simply impressions 
of a model that is furnished by the pattern-maker, whilst 
loam-moulds are in some measure the handiwork of the 
moulder himself, unaided by the pattern-maker in many 
instances. 

There are instances where of necessity the operations 
necessary for the successful construction of a high-class 
loam-mould must include the three chief systems com- 
bined, viz., pattern, strickle, and sj)indle, with ample op- 
portunity throughout the task for supplementing these 
systems by a nicety of touch which may be acquired only 
by constant practice and close application by the most in- 
telligent moulders. See Touch ; Green-sand ]\Iould- 
iNG ; Dry-sand Moulding. 

Loam-patterns. — Numerous patterns may be readi- 
ly made from loam and much pattern lumber saved thereby; 
many, also, may be made quicker by this means, saving 
both time and lumber. 

Straight pieces of shafting, pipes, etc., may be struck on 
a barrel to the diameter required, after which a little water 
blacking will separate the thickness, which may be struck 
thereon after drying the core. Or should such a pattern 
be required more than once, the outside diameter can be 
struck at once, dried, coated with tar, and dried again. 
Such a substitute for the wood pattern acts very well in 
an emergency. 

If the pipe is a common socket, the bead and socket ends 



Lode. S-li Loosening-bar 

can be formed at once; but in the event of flanges they 
must be placed after the model is dry, as would be the case 
also if it were desired to affix a branch thereon. 

Bends of any description may be made from loam with 
either iron or wood templets and a former, each half being 
first struck on a core-iron to the core size, then dried, 
flanges fixed, and the thickness struck; first interposing 
a thin coat of water-blacking to separate the thickness 
from the core after the mould impression has been taken. 

The bottom half of such a pattern needs a few brads 
driven into the body, the heads of which, protruding some- 
what into the thickness, would prevent the thickness from 
falling off whilst it was doing duty for a pattern. A barrel 
core isthicknessed by wrapping a hay-rope on the core, and 
finishing off with clay and loam in the ordinary manner. 
Those unaccustomed to this method of producing a pattern 
will see by the above examples what the possibilities are 
when the emergency presents itself. See Former ; Tem- 
plet ; Core-barrel ; Thickness ; Loam. 

Lode. — The term used for an ore-producing vein. 
Ore occurs in either beds or mineral veins ; in the latter 
the veins are invariably found to have one of two or three 
principal directions, being either nearly parallel to the axis 
of elevation of the district, at right angles to that direction? 
or at an angle of 45° with it. The first are right-running 
lodes ; the second, cross-courses j and the third, conira-lodes, 
or counters. See Ore ; Veins. 

Log. — A term of wide application in the foundry, mean- 
ing any piece of blocking-timber used for shoring purposes 
or as a bearing for flasks, etc. See Trestle. 

Looseiiing-lbar, or rapping-bar, is usually a round, 
pointed bar for jarring patterns previous to lifting off 



Low Moor Iron. 245 Lustre on Iron. 

the cope or drawing out a pattern. In the first instance 
the jarring effects a separation of tlie sand from the pattern 
before the parts are separated with the view of preventing 
2i had lift; in the latter case the pattern is loosened and 
made to draiu easier. Eappiiig-phites are, or slioukl be, 
inserted in the pattern to receive the point of the bar, 
which is then struck in opposite directions with a hammer 
or sledge. See Rapping-plate ; Lift. 

liOW Moor Iron.— This iron is manufactured under 
exceptional conditions, as botli ore and fuel employed for 
making the pig iron used in their forges are of special 
quality, and are both obtained within their own premises. 
The ore is a brown ironstone, containing after calcination 
42 per cent of metal, and is found in the coal-measures of 
the neighborhood. Even the limestone used for flux comes 
from the same county — Yorkshire, England. See Ores. 

Lllg (or snug, in some localities) is an extension-piece 
cast on loam-plates for the purpose of handling and lifting 
by whatever method is in vogue. Some have staples of 
wrought iron cast in them to receive a hook, others again 
have simply a hole in the lug for that object but unless 
required for some special reason, a plain lug is amply suf- 
ficient when chains or slings are used for lifting with. See 
Si^uG; PiN^ AND Cotter. 

Lustre is the brightness on the outer surface of a 
mineral, or in the interior when newly broken, as in pig 
iron, etc. When it can be seen plain at a distance, it is then 
termed splendent ; if weak, shining ; when the lustre is to 
be seen only at arm's length, glistening ; and glimmering 
when it must be held close to see the shining points. When 
the surface is without lustre it is termed dull. 

Lustre on Iron. — See Irok-lustre. 



Mackeazie Blower. '346 Magnesium 



M. 

Mackenzie Blower. — Tlie fan-blades in this blower 
are supported by a shaft, and caused to revolve by the 
revolutions of a cylinder contained in the shell. The fan- 
blades are loosely joined to the shaft and arranged so that 
they adapt themselves to a continuous alteration of the 
angle as they pass through the cylinder. Half-rolls in the 
cylinder act as guides for the fan-blades, allowing them to 
work smoothly in and out as the cylinder revolves. At 
each revolution the entire space back of the cylinder be- 
tween two blades is filled and emptied three times, that 
being the number of blades contained. See Blower. 

Mackenzie Cupola. — The Mackenzie cupola has a 
continuous tuyere, which allows the blast to enter the fuel 
at all points. Each size is proportioned to melt a given 
quantity of iron in a certain time. Above one ton per 
hour melting capacity they are made oval in form. This 
construction brings the blast to the centre of the furnace 
with the least possible resistance and, it is claimed, the 
smallest amount of power, causing a complete diffusion of 
air and a uniform temperature. The sizes of the cupolas 
indicate the melting capacity per hour; that is, a No. 1 
melts 1 ton per hour ; No. 6, 6 tons ; and so on with all 
sizes. See Cupola ; Blower. 

Magnesium is a very brilliant metal of almost silvery 
whiteness. It is more brittle than silver at an ordinary 
temperature, but becomes malleable at something below a 
red heat. Its specific gravity is 1.74. It melts at a bright- 
red heat, and volatilizes at nearly the same temperature as 
zinc. In dry air its lustre is retained, but a crust of mag- 
nesia forms on its surface when subjected to a moist air. 



liagnesian Limestone. 247 • Malachite. 

Magnesium in the form of a wire or ribbon takes fire at a 
red heat, burning with a dazzling bluish-white light. The 
pure oxide of magnesium (magnesia) is obtained by ignit- 
ing the carbonate, but this is both a difficult and expensive 
means of obtaining it, and recourse is had to the impure 
magnesiau limestones found in Thuringia and in some parts 
of England. It is a white powder, varying in density 
according to the source from whence it is obtained. It is 
unalterable by heat, and has never been fused; and on ac- 
count of its refractoriness is valuable as an ingredient for 
the manufacture of crucibles for metallurgical purposes. 
See Dolomite. 

Magnesian Liiiiestone.— See Magitesium. 

Magnet. — There are two kinds of magnets — natural 
and artificial. The natural magnet is an iron ore which 
has the property of attracting to itself particles of iron or 
steel. If suspended, it takes a north and south direction, 
and it is from this particular leading property that it is 
called leadstone or loadstone. The magnet {magnes in 
Greek) is supposed to liave received its name from Magne- 
sia, in Asia Minor, where iu was first discovered. See 
Loadstone. 

Mag'iietite is a magnetic iron ore, or oxidulated iron. 
It is one of the richest and most important ores of iron, 
and produces the finest brands of steel. It is found in al- 
most all parts of the woi'ld, and occurs crystallized in iron 
in black octahedrons and dodecahedrons; also massive, as 
well as in the form of sand. See Ores. 

Malachite. — A mineral, the green carbonate of cop- 
per ; also called velvet copper ore. It is much admired as 
an ornamental stone for inlaying purposes. There are two 



Malleability. 2-18 Malleable Cast Iron. 

varieties^ the fibrous and the compact. Constituents : cop- 
per 58. carbonic acid 18.0, oxygen 12.5, water 11.5. See 
Copper; Minerals; MetalSc 

Malleability. — A property possessed by metals wliich 
renders them capable of being beaten out with a hammer 
or pressed into plates between rollers. Gold surpasses all 
metals in malleability, being capable of reduction into films 
not exceeding the 200,000th of an inch in thickness, whilst 
iron has been rolled into sheets less than the 2500th of an 
inch in thickness. The malleability of metals is here given 
in their respective order of value, beginning with the 
highest : Gold, silver, copper, tiu, cadmium, platinum, 
lead, zinc, iron, nickel, palladium. See Ductility ; 
Metals ; Strength of Materials. 

Malleable Bronze. — Hard bronze may be made 
malleable by the addition of from J to 2 per cent mercury, 
which may be combined with either of the metals compos- 
ing the mixture before the bronze is finally made. It can 
be put into the melted copper at the same time the tin is 
added, or can be used as an amalgam with the tin. See 
Bronze; Alloys; Brass. 

Malleable Cast Iron is made by a process of de- 
carburizing the articles made from cast or pig iron in the 
annealing furnace, where they are subjected to an oxidiz- 
ing atmosphere somewhat below the fusing-point. The 
furnaces employed for this purpose consist of iron plates 
to enclose the necessary space, which serve also as guides 
for the doors, which are raised perpendicularly, being bal- 
anced by a weight at the back of the furnace. The inside 
of the furnace consists of fire-space and the oven proper, 
an arch extending over both, the fire-space being separated 
from the oven by a bridge wall extending nearly to the 



Malleable Iron. 249 Malleable Iron. 

arch, leaving only a narrow space through which the flame 
is forced by the blast, completely filling the oven. The 
gases escape through small outlets in the corners to the 
flues below, which are fitted with a dam]ier operating from 
the front. The castings to be rendered malleable are placed 
in cast iron covered boxes or saggers, along with oxide of 
iron, and subjected to a red heat in these furnaces for from 
two to six days, according to the magnitude of the castings. 
They are then allowed to cool slowly. See Decarbonize. 

Malleable Iron. — By depriving cast iron of a por- 
tion of its carbon it may be converted into malleable or 
wrought iron, becoming ductile and tenacious, and capable 
of being hammered or rolled into thin sheets or drawn into 
fine wire. Malleable or wrought iron has a fibrous texture, 
but if it is subjected to repeated jarring or blows it be- 
comes again brittle, and can only be restored by heating 
and reworking. The ordinary processes of converting cast 
iron into malleable are : refining, puddling, shingling, 
hammering, and rolling. The refining-furnace consists of 
a flat hearth covered with sand, around which are metal 
troughs through which a constant stream of water is kept 
running, to prevent the sides from melting; tuyeres set in 
the direction of the hearth connect with the blowing-en- 
gine. The cast iron is melted with coke on the hearth, 
and a blast of air which blows directly over it causes the 
carbon of the iron to unite with the oxygen of the incom- 
ing air and pass away as carbonic-oxide gas. Oxygen also 
unites with the silicon present to form silica, and with the 
iron to form the oxide. A slag of silicate of iron is also 
produced by the silica of the sand uniting with the oxide 
of iron. When the molten mass has been sufficiently re- 
fined it is run out on cast-iron plates, whirh are kept cool 
by streams of water. This process only partially decarbon- 
izes the iron; it is then broken into pieces and passed to 



Mallet. ^50 Manganese. 

the piiddling-furnace, where it is again melted and brought 
up to a high temperature, when it is subjected to the ac- 
tion of a current of air, by which means the carbon burns 
to carbonic acid, a portion of the iron is oxidized, and this 
oxide unites with the silicon in the iron and forms a fusi- 
ble slag. The workmen by means of long bars keep up 
a constant stirring or puddling of the mass, so that the 
whole may be exposed to the air, and to intimately mix the 
oxide with the metal. After a time the iron loses its fluid- 
ity, blue flames appear on the surface, it becomes pasty, 
and finally falls to pieces. The fire is now quickened, and 
the loose masses unite. They are then gathered by the 
puddler into balls, which are at once conveyed to the 
squeezer, or shingling hammer, where the slag is pressed 
out and the metal formed into a bloom, which is at once 
passed through the rough ing-rolls, and finally the finishing- 
rolls, which in some instances completes the operation. 
The quality of the iron is improved by taking the bars 
from the roughing-rolls and cutting them into lengths, to 
be reheated in piles or fagots, and then rolled or hammered 
out together. See Puddled Steel. 

Mallet. — A wooden hammer for service in the foundry, 
where the marks produced by the smaller iron-faced ham- 
mer is objectionable. Besides the ordinary wood mallets, 
with heads 3^ inches long, 2 inches diameter at the ends, 
there are now made for the trade raw-hide mallets from 1 
inch to 2f inches diameter at the head ; they are made 
entirely of hide, except the handle, and are especially 
valuable where light thin castings are made, as they are 
not as likely to damage the patterns. 

Manganese is one of the heavy metals, of which iron 
may be taken as the representative. Its color is grayish 
white, of high metallic brilliancy, it takes a fine polish, is 



Manganese bronze. 251 Manganese-copper. 

non-magnetic, fuses at a white heat only, and is so hard 
that steel and glass may be scratched by it. As spiegel- 
eisen, or white iron, it contains 8 to 15 per cent of man- 
ganese. Ferro-manganese, another regular article of com- 
merce, contains from 25 to 75 per cent of manganese. 
These alloys of manganese, with carbon and iron, along 
with certain small proportions of other elements, consti- 
tuting either spiegeleisen or ferro-manganese, according to 
the percentage of manganese contained in the alloy, are in- 
dispensable for the manufacture of steel by the Siemens, 
the Bessemer, or the crucible modes of procedure. 

Manganese combines with carbon and silica, forming un- 
important compounds. One of its principal uses is chemi- 
cal, under the form of an oxide ; it is employed in this 
state for decomposing hydrochloric acid, in the manufacture 
of chlorine, as a cheap source of oxygen, and as coloring 
material in the manufacture of glass and enamels. See 
Spiegeleisen ; Ferro-manganese ; Steel. 

Manganese-bronze.— This bronze, manufactured 
by P. M. Parsons, England, for every purpose for which gun- 
metal has heretofore been employed, and for which object 
it constitutes an eminently superior alloy, is made by 
adding from 1 to 2 per cent manganese to the common 
bronzes of copper, tin, and zinc. 

It is largely used for propeller-blades, sheathing, bearings, 
piston-rings, etc., and is said to be 60 per cent stronger 
than gun-metal, and will wear three times as long. See 
Bronze ; Brass. 

Manganese-copper is used as a strengthener to 
bronze and brass. The density, ductility, and tensile 
strength of the metal is increased, as it prevents the for- 
mation of copper and tin oxides. The alloy is made from 
copper 70, manganese 30, of which composition sufficient 



Manheim Gold. 252 Marsh-gas. 

must be used to bring the mixture up to the required de- 
gree of hardness. A very hard bronze is made by using 
from 3 to 6 per cent. A suitable mixture for bearings 
would be copper 80, tin 6^, zinc 4|, manganese-copper 9. 

A hardness resembling steel is produced by increased 
quantities of cupro-manganese, or manganese-copper. See 
Copper ; BROiq^zE ; Brass. 

Maiiheini Gold. — A brass imitation of gold, com- 
posed of copper 16, zinc 4, and tin 1. To insure close re- 
semblance to gold, the crucible must be clean, metals pure, 
and it is best to melt under powdered charcoal in a covered 
crucible. See Gold ; Tombac. 

Manure.— See Loam ; Horse-makure. 

Marble is a rock belonging to the varieties of carbon- 
ate of lime which have a granular and crystalline texture. 
It is composed of carbonate of lime, either almost pure 
when the color is white, or combined with oxide of iron or 
other impurities which give various colors to it. The far- 
famed quarries of Carrara, Italy, have supplied this beauti- 
ful material for statuary purposes from time immemorial. 
The pure white marble is quarried also in Vermont, but it 
is not held in as high estimation as that from Italy. Of 
variegated marble there are many sorts found in this 
country, but generally not fit for sculpture. See Lime- 
stoke. 

Marble-chips. — The chips from a marble-yard are 
the very best material to use as a limestone-flux in cupolas, 
being comparatively free from the deleterious substances 
usually found in the commoner kinds of limestone. See 
Flux ; Limestone-flux. 

Marsli-gas, usually called fire-damp by miners, is 



Martin Steel. 253 Match part. 

often abundantly disengaged in coal-mines from apertures 
or "blowers/' which emit for a length of time a copious 
stream or jet of gas, probably existing in a state of com- 
pression pent up in the coal. When the mud at the 
bottom of pools in which water-plants grow is stirred it 
suffers bubbles of gas to escape, which if collected are found 
to be a mixture of marsh-gas and carbonic anhydride; and 
it is thought by some that these two gases represent the 
principal forms in which the hydrogen and the oxygen re- 
spectively were separated from wood during the process of 
its conversion into coal. See AiR ; Vekting. 

Martin Steel is made in the reverberatory furnace 
by adding malleable iron to the molten pig iron after the 
latter has been melted. See Steel. 

Match-board. — Same as match-plate, except that it 
is made of wood instead of metal. See Match-plate ; 
Match-part. 

Match-part, sometimes called a ^^sand odd-part" by 
the moulder. This is a device for economizing time in 
making partings when a large number of castings are re- 
quired to be made in the same kind of flasks. One method 
of procedure is as follows : Procure a well-made '^roll-over " 
board, and arrange the pattern or patterns suitably for 
gating, etc., and wherever portions of the pattern must of 
necessity project upwards into the cope, set them just in 
that position on the board by cutting out the wood at the 
points of projection, taking care that the parts of the board 
adjacent to the patterns shall leave the parting all ready 
made around them when the nowel has been rammed and 
rolled over. Another ready way of accomplishing this is to 
extemporize a match-part by forming the same in sand, 
hard rammed into an odd flask of equal dimensions with 



Matchplate. 254 Meadow-ore. 

the ones to be used; this may be coated with tar and dried, 
and will be found very serviceable. A decided improvement 
on the last may be obtained by first making the parting in 
the usual manner and covering the same with oil, and a 
good sprinkling of parting-sand; after which set thereon 
a wood frame (no deeper than is absolutely necessary), 
having a bottom nailed on, with a few nails driven here and 
there clear of the parting. A hole in the centre will per- 
mit the space to be filled with plaster, which, running all 
over the surface and around the nails, will, when set, be 
found a perfect impression of the joint required. The 
nails will prevent it from dropping out. See Match- 
plate; Roll-over Board. 

Match-plate. — A plate provided with pin-holes cor- 
responding to pins and holes of the top and bottom flasks 
between which it is placed, to be rammed on both sides be- 
fore it is removed, and thus save the labor of making a joint 
or parting. Should the patterns present one plain side, 
allowing all the mould to be contained in the nowel, all 
such may be secured to the lower side of the plate ; but in 
the event of there being a portion in each flask, then the 
patterns must be cut and each part secured to the match- 
plate exactly opposite to each other on either side of the 
match-plate. See Match-part ; SAiq"D Odd-part. 

Maul. — A heavy wooden sledge-hammer, useful in the 
foundry for many purposes for which iron ones are objec- 
tionable. They are especially effective for settling down 
iron copes on a sand-joint, bedding-in large patterns, or 
any purpose where a steel-faced hammer would be likely to 
break or mar the surface struck. 



Meadow-ore. — Conchoidal bog-iron ore. See Bog- 
iron Ore. 



Measurement of Castings. 255 Melting point. 

Measiirenient of Castings. — See Weights of 
Castings. 

Medals. — If it is desired to obtain a convex and a con- 
cave plaster-mould from a medal, press tin-foil close into 
every part of the surface and pour on the requisite thick- 
ness of plaster, after which, when it has hardened, take off 
the medal and oil the tin-foil surface, over which the pias- 
ter is again poured. When the latter thickness of plaster 
has hardened, tliey may be separated and the foil taken off. 

Should the medal have under-cut parts which interfere 
with a direct separation, then use glue instead of plaster, 
and the moulds may be forcibly withdrawn without ma- 
terially damaging them. Any other flat object may be 
treated as above described. See Glue-moulds. 

Melting a Small Quantity of Iron. — See 

FOi^DERIE A OaLABASSE. 

Melting-furnace. — The cupola and reverberatory 
are the iron-foundry melting-furnaces; the crucible air- 
furnace, forced-draught, and reverberatory are the brass- 
founders' and steel-melters\ A reverberatory furnace is 
employed by glass-makers for calcining the materials, and 
crucible or "glass furnaces'' to melt the glass. The appli- 
cation of the Siemens regenerative process is becoming 
general for all these purposes, excepting for iron-foundries, 
and a considerablo saving in fuel is effected wherever this 
system obtains. See Furnaces. 

Melting-i3oint.— Tho exact amount of heat at which 
metals and other substances become fused and lose their 
identity. (See Fusibility.) The following gives tlie 
melting-points of the simple metals mentioned, but the 
melting-points of alloys are invariably below those of the 



Mending-up. 25 G Mercury or Quicksilver. 

simple metals composing them. (See Fusible Alloys.) 
Cast iron melts at 3-477 degrees; wrought iron, 3981; steel, 
2501; gold, 2587; silver, 1250; copper, 2550; tin, 420; zinc, 
741; brass, 1897; lead, 617; aluminum, and 700 degrees. 

Mending-up. — The art of repairing broken surfaces 
in the mould which may have been caused by accident, 
carelessness, or faulty models or patterns. This phase of 
the moulder's art calls for the nicest manipulation, with 
delicate fashioning- tools made for the purpose. See 
Finishing. 

Mercury or Quicksilver.— A metal always fluid 
in our climate, but solidified by intense cold into a malle- 
able metal resembling silver. It is found native as well 
as combined with sulphur, when it is called cinnabar. 
But cinnabar is easily reduced at a red heat to the metal- 
lic state by the action of iron or lime, or atmospheric 
oxygen ; the sulphur being extracted, when iron is used, as 
sulphide of iron; when lime is used, as sulphide and sul- 
phate of calcium ; and as sulphurous-acid gas when oxygen 
is used. The alchemists of old did not believe mercury to 
be a true metal, because they were unaware of its suscepti- 
bility to freezing into a compact solid. 

With the exception of iron and platinum, mercury will 
readily unite with all metals into an amalgam. (See Amal- 
gam ; Amalgamation.) Liquid amalgams of the precious 
metals are largely used for gilding and silvering objects 
which have been made in baser metals. The amalgam is 
spread over the object with brushes, after which the mer- 
cury is driven off by the application of heat, leaving a film 
of the nobler metal firmly adhering to the object treated. 

Mercury has a great affinity for all other metals that are 
soluble in mercury; for if an object be dipped into it there 
is great difficulty in rubbing off the mercury, which in> 



Metallurgy. 257 Metals. 

mediately adheres to it- If mercury is rubbed over tin-foil, 
it unites in one mass and forms an amalgam, as is the case 
with mercury and lead. When lead and bismuth are 
mixed with mercury, the amalgam will be equally fluid 
with the mercury itself. This important metal is Used for 
barometers, thermometers, silvering looking-glasses, and for 
many other useful purposes, including the making of ver- 
milion. It is largely employed in separating the precious 
metals from extraneous matter. 

Mercury is the heaviest of all metals except gold and 
platinum; consequently silver, iron, lead, etc., float upon 
it as wood does upon water. The production of mercury 
(1882) in Austria was 543 tons; Italy, 55 tons; Spain, 929 
tons; United States (principally Almaden, Oal.), 2054 tons. 
See Tii^; Amalgam; Fluid Alloy; Metals. 

Metallurgy. — In a limited sense metallurgy includes 
only the operations attendant on the separation of metals 
from their ores; but it really comprehends the whole art of 
working metals, from the mining of the ore to the produc- 
tion of the manufactured article. See Metals; Minerals; 
Ores; Reduction of Metals. 

Metals. — There are three states in which metals occur 
in nature. First, some of them, as gold, silver, platinum, 
and mercury, are frequently found uncombined. These 
are said to occur in their native state. Second, many are 
obtained alloyed with each other, as gold and silver with 
mercury; but invariably they are found in combination 
with the metalloids, for which they have a strong attrac- 
tion; these constitute the third state, and are known as 
metallic ores. The metals are conductors of electricity 
and heat, but differ in this resj^ect. Some metals are so 
volatile that they may be distilled from their compounds. 
Mercury boils at 662°; lead is volatilized to some extent, 



Metals. 



258 



Metals. 



and in a slight degree copper also, in the smelting-furnaces; 
and gold will dissipate in vapor in the focus of a powerful 
burning-glass. With regard to their fusibility metals show 
a marked difference. Mercury remains fluid at 39°; so- 
dium and potassium fuse below the boiling-point of water; 
silver and gold melt at a red heat, iron at a white heat; 
and platinum only yields to the action of the oxyhydrogen 
blowpipe. There are great differences with respect to 
specific gravity of metals. While platinum is twenty-two 
times heavier than water, lithium is only about half as 
heavy as that liquid. The lightest metals have the strong- 
est affinity for oxygen. Some of the metals are neither 
malleable nor ductile, yet others again have those proper- 
ties to a remarkable extent. Gold may be hammered to the 
200,000th of an inch in thickness, and wire has been drawn 
from platinum to the 30,000th of an inch in diameter. The 
metals exhibit wide differences in hardness. Steel may be 
tempered to scratch glass, while potassium is as soft as wax. 
To pulverize gold oi- copper great force is required; yet 
others again, notably antimony and bismuth, may be re- 
duced to powder in a mortar. 

The following table gives the relative properties of 
various metals, their names being arranged in a descending 
series : 



Power to 










Power to 


conduct 


Brittleness. 


Malleability. 


Tenacity. 


Ductility. 


conduct 


Electricity. 










Heat. 


Silver 


Antimony 


Gold 


Iron 


Gold 


Silver 


Copper 


Arsenic 


Silver 


Copper 


Silver 


Copper 


Gold 


Bismuth 


Copper 


Platinum 


Platinum 


Gok, 


Zinc 


Cerium 


Tin 


Silver 


lion 


Tin 


Iron 


Chromium 


Cadmium 


Gold 


Copper 


Iron 


Tin 


Cobalt 


Platinum 


Zinc 


Zinc 


Lead 


Lead 


Columbium 


Lead 


Tin 


Tin 


Bismuth 


Antimony 


Manganese 


Zinc 


Lead 


Lead 




Bismuth 


Titanium 


Iron 




Nickel 






Tungsten 


Nickel 




Cadmium 





Meteoric Iron. 259 Metre 

Meteoric Iron. — Iron mixed with nickel, as found 
in meteoric stones or aerolites. See Meteoric Stones; 
Iron; Nickel. 

Meteoric Steel. — Steel resembling the famed Da- 
mascus steel is made by melting in a plumbago crucible, 
well covered with charcoal, silver 4, nickel 16, zinc 80, 
and pouring the alloy into water, which renders it friable. 
It may then be readily crushed to powder, and added to 
steel as follows : Blister-steel, 28 pounds; chromateof iron, 
8 ounces; quicklime, 3 ounces; porcelain clay, 3 ounces; 
meteor-powder, 10 ounces; melted in the regular way, cast 
into an ingot, drawn into bars, and in every respect treated 
like any other cast steel. 

If the surface is washed with dilute nitric acid (acid 1, 
water 19), the wavy surface common to Damascus steel will 
be more pronounced. See Steel; Damascus Steel. 

Meteoric St ones. —Usually called aerolites, fire- 
balls, or shooting-stars, which occasionally fall from the 
atmosphere. When taken up soon after their fall they are 
found to be hot; and, no matter where they descend, they 
are all similar in composition, being composed of silica, mag- 
nesia, sulphur, iron in the metallic state, nickel, and some 
traces of chromium; their specific gravity varies from 3.352 
to 4.281, that of water being taken as 1.000 or unity. Their 
exterior appears as if blackened in a furnace but the in- 
terior appears of a grayish white. Their size varies from 
a few ounces up, one in the Museum of Natural Sciences, 
Philadelphia, weighing 800 pounds. See Meteoric Iron. 

Metre.— A measure of length equal to 39.370 English 
inches, or 39.368 American inches, the standard of linear 
measure, intended to be the ten-millionth part of the dis- 
tance from the Equator to the North Pole, as ascertained 



Metric System. 260 Mill-cinder. 

by actual measiirenient of an arc of the meridian. See 
Metric System. 

Metric System. — The metric system of weights and 
measures was first adopted in France, and by Act of Con- 
gress was authorized to be nsed in tliis conn try 1866. It 
is a decimal system, and the units of length, superficies, 
solidity, and weight are all correlated, two data only being 
nsed— the metre, and the weight of a cube of water the side 
of which is the hundredth part of a metre. Upon the 
metre are based the following primary units : the square 
metre, the arc, the cubic metre or stere, the litre, and the 
gram. The square metre is the unit of measure for small 
surfaces. The arc is the unit of land measure, and is a 
square whose side is 10 metres in 1, or 100 square metres. 
The cubic metre or stere is the unit of volume, and is a 
cube whose edge is one metre in 1. The litre is the unit 
of capacity; this is the capacity of a cube whose edge is yV of 
a metre in 1. The gram is the unit of weight, and is the 
weight of distilled water contained in a cube whose edge is 
the y^Q- part of a metre. 

From these primary units the higher and lower orders of 
units are derived decimally. See Metre. 

Mica. — A mineral of a somewhat metallic lustre, 
that will permit of being split in thin plates, which can 
be substituted for glass in ship's lanterns, etc.; also for 
mounting transparencies in stoves. It is a widely diffused 
and plentiful mineral, entering largely into the composition 
of granite, mica-slate, etc. It consists essentially of silicate 
of alumina, with which are combined small portions of sili- 
cates of potash, soda, oxide of iron, oxide of manganese, 
etc. See Grai^ite. 

Mill-cinder. — The slag produced at the reheating and 



Milled Lead. 261 Minerals. 

puddling furnaces. Tliis slag, after several days' roasting, 
becomes higlily refractory, and is known as hilldog, mak- 
ing an excellent substance for the bottoms of puddling- 
furnaces. These rich slags are sometimes mixed with 
the ores in the blast-furnace, and the iron thus produced 
is then denominated cinder-ing ; but, owing to the large 
percentage of phosphopus usually present in pig iron made 
by this method, it is very inferior in quality. These slags 
are frequently called tap and forge cinder. See Slag. 

Milled Leatl. — Sheet lead made in the rolling-mill by 
passing the metal through the rolls. See Sheet Lead. 

Mill-furnace. — A furnace employed to reheat the 
puddled bar after it has become too cold to pass through 
the rolls to a finish. 

Mill-rolls.— See Rolls. 

Mineral Cotton. — If a jet of steam is forced through 
liquid slag, the latter is changed into a mass of fine white 
threads, which when gathered together appear like cotton 
wool. It is sometimes called mineral wool. If an extra 
strong current of moist air be blown into a cupola that is 
slagging freely, this phenomenon is likely to occur. 

Mineralogy.— The science which treats of the solid 
and inanimate materials of which our globe consists, the 
four classes of which are earthy minerals, composing the 
greater part of the earth's crust ; saline minerals, inflam- 
mable minerals, and metallic minerals. See Minerals; 
Metals; Earths. 

Mineral Oils.— See Petroleum. 

Minerals are all such natural bodies as are destitute 



Mirrors. ^^^ Mixing Cast Iroa. 

of organization, existing either within or on the surface of 
the earth, and which are neither animal nor vegetable. 

The hardness of minerals, beginning with the softest, is as 
follows: 1. Talc; 2. Gypsum; 3. Calcareous spar; 4. Fluor- 
spar; 5. Apatite; 6. Feldspar; 7. Quartz; 8. Topaz; 9. 
Sapphire; 10. Corundum; 11. Diamond. See Precious 
Stones; Earths; Minerals. 

Mirrors. — For methods pursued in producing glass 
mirrors, see Mercury. For metal mirrors, see Brass 
Mirrors. 

Mitis Metal. — The name given to an alloy of alumi- 
num with wrought iron. For the production of castings 
in this metal, t-he wrought iron is heated until it has be- 
come pasty, and then treated to a small quantity of alumi- 
num, which immediately liquefies the iron in a fit condition 
for pouring into the moulds. 

These so-called mitis castings, it is claimed, have all the 
properties, excepting fibre, that wrought iron possesses, be- 
sides being much softer than cast iron. Wrought-iron or 
mild-steel scrap is usually the basis of this metal ; but no 
matter what the kind of material be, it is preferable that it 
should not contain more than 0.1 per cent of phosphorus 
when the best results attainable are desired. About 3| 
ounces of aluminum are sufficient for 100 pounds of iron. 
See Aluminum. 

Mixing Alloys.— See Alloy. 

Mixing Cast Iron. — The art of mixing certain pro- 
portions of different brands of iron to obtain castings of 
such quality as will best serve the purpose for which they 
are intended. Without a chemical knowledge of the act- 
ual ingredients needed for the production of a certain qual- 



Mock Gold. S6S Modelling. 

ity of iron, mixing cast iron must, always remain in the 
realm of conjecture. True, there is much to be said in 
favor of the superior facilities for subsequent testing;- but 
this gives no substantial data, and must always be repeated 
on every change of the materials employed. Late develop- 
ments relating to the power of silicon to change the nature 
of cast iron has opened a way for a more intelligent system 
of mixing. See Ai^alysis ; Testing-machike; Silicon; 
Softeners ; Grades of Pig Iron. 

Mock Gold.— See Gold Alloy; Ormolu. 

Mock Platinum. — A factitious platinum is pro- 
duced by mixing 5 zinc with 8 brass. For composition of 
brass, see Brass. 

Mock Silver is a white-metal alloy, ordinarily used 
by jewellers, etc. If 3.53 of silver be alloyed with 11.71 
copper and 2.4 of platinum, the composition will have 
about the same specific gravity as the pure metal. Pack- 
fong, or tutenag, another imitation, is composed of : cop- 
per^40.4, zinc 25.4, and nickel 31.6. German tutania : 
tin 48, antimony 4, copper 1. See Silver Alloys ; Imi- 
tation Silver. 

Modelling.— The art of designing or copying works 
of art in clay, for the purpose of obtaining moulds in 
which they may be cast in plaster or metal. The fingers, 
aided by a few implements of metal or wood,— usually both, 
—are the only tools required for fashioning the clay. Or- 
dinarily, the common potters'-clay will serve this purpose ; 
but for designs which occupy a lengthened period to pro- 
duce, it is mixed with other ingredients to keep it in a 
moist condition. The support of a figure in modelling is 
of great importance, requiring in some instances a skele- 



Modellers' Wax. 264 Molasses. 

to7i of wood or iron supports on which to work the clay. 
When the model is complete^ a plaster imj^ression of the 
sama is taken in sections, which are then placed to- 
gether in precisely the same position as they occupied on 
the model; the space originally occupied by the model 
is now filled with plastei", and when the cast is well set 
the mould is carefully taken off, exposing a finished cast 
of the model. This is a much better plan than that of the 
ancient sculptors, who simply dried the clay model ; but 
clay cracks and shrinks in drying, therefore plastei'-casts 
from the models are best. See Foukdikg of Statues ; 

MODELLIKG-CLAY. 

Modellers' Wax.— See Wax. 

Modelling'-clay. — Common potters'-clay mixed with 
water will answer for inferior work ; for work of superior 
quality dry clay may be brought to the right consistency 
with glycerine; but for models requiring considerable time 
for their completion, and to avoid the repeated moistening 
to which they must be subjected, it is best to use a clay 
composed of : clay 3, sulphur 6, oxide of zinc 1, fatty 
acids 2, fats 10. First saponify the zinc-white with oleic 
acid, which then mix with the other fatty acids ; add sul- 
phur in flowers, and the clay in dry powder. See Oils ; 
ZiKc; Pottery. 

Moire Metallique. — A crystalline appearance of 
great beauty given to tin-plate by brushing over the heated 
metal a mixture of 2 parts of nitric acid, 2 of hydrochloric 
acid, and 4 of water. As soon as the crystals appear the 
plate is quickly washed, dried, and varnished. See Tm. 

Molasses. — A brown, viscid, uncrystallized syrup 
produced in the manufacture of sugar. Owing principally 



Molecule. 265 Molecule. 

to the gluey nature of this product, it can be made of great 
use in the foundry. Core-sands void of the quality of 
adhesiveness may, by being mixed with molasses, be made 
sufficiently tenacious to admit of their being employed 
where, if sands containing aluminous substances were used, 
there would be great difficulty in extracting the core when 
cast. The molasses, owing to its sticky nature, holds the 
loose grains of silica together until the molten metal has 
solidified, during which time all its cohesive qualities have 
been burned away by the intense heat, leaving the sand 
free to run out of the cavity at the slightest provocation. 
Common beach and river sands may be made serviceable 
by the use of molasses when the cores are for light castings; 
but when it is desired to accomplish similar results in heavy 
castings, the more refractory silica sands must, be used. 

Molasses is now extensively used for mixing with the sil- 
ica sands, etc., used in steel casting, in order to bring these 
incoherent materials up to the right consistency for form- 
ing the moulds. 

Mixed with water until the latter may be pronounced 
very sweet, it is an excellent restorative for a badly burned 
mould surface, especially when a little black lead has been 
stirred in. If the mixture be too thick with molasses, in- 
stead of penetrating the burned mould surface, it will lie 
there and form a hard skin, which, as it dries, separates 
and curls up, bringing the sand with it, and making mat- 
ters worse. See Coee-sakd ; Flouk ; Glue ; Steel 
Castings. 

Molecule. — One of the constituent particles of bodies. 
The molecules of bodies are divided into integrant and 
constituent, the integrant having properties similar to the 
mass, and are consequently simple or compound, as the 
mass is either one or the other. A mass of pure metal 
consists of integrant particles, each of which has metallic 



Mosaic Gold. ^66 Moulding, 

properties sijnilar to those possessed by the whole mass. 
Siinilai'ly, a iiuiss of alloy consists of integrant particles, 
each of which is a compound of the different metals form- 
ing the alloy. When a compound integrant molecule is 
decomposed we arrive at the constituent molecules. There- 
fore oxygen and hydrogen are the constituent molecules of 
an integrant molecule of water. 

Mosaic Gold. — A cheap brass used for making imi- 
tation jewelry. It is made by alloying copper with about 
equal parts of zinc. See Gold Alloy; Ormolu; Tombac. 

Mottled Iron. — The variety of pig iron which is 
evidently between the two extremes of white and gray. 
The fracture shows a decided mottle, seemingly caused by 
the distribution of detached portions of white iron through- 
out a matrix of gray iron. Pig iron is termed high or low 
mottle, according to the proportion of white iron present in 
the pig. See Gray Iron; White Irok; Oast Iroi^. 

Moulding". — The art of preparing moulds from plastic 
materials of such a nature as will successfully resist the in- 
tense heat of molten metal, — as loam or sand,— in which 
may be formed the object to be produced in metal, the 
process being completed when the metal has been melted, 
run into the mould, and solidified. True, there are moulds 
used for special purposes in iron-casting other than those 
composed of sand; as for instance, rolls, car-wheels, etc., 
which require to be chilled in parts. This is accomplished 
by providing smooth cast-iron surfaces for the metal to lie 
against. Again, castings in zinc, lead, tin, or alloys made 
from these metals are frequently cast in moulds composed 
entirely of either brass or iron ; by this means the castings 
are not only a true duplicate of each other, but are made 
much cheaper. 



Moulding in Dry Sand. 267 Moulding-machines. 

I^or flexible moulds, see Glue-moulds and Elastic 
Moulds; also, "The Iron Founder" and '*The Iron 
Founder Supplement," in which works the whole art of 
moulding is comprehensively set forth. 

Moulding in Dry Sand.— See Dry-sand Mould- 
ing. 

Moulding in Loam.— See Loam-moulding. 

Monlding-niacliines. — These machines, in infinite 
variety, are now recognized everywhere as com])etent to pro- 
duce castings of limited variety, in a far superior manner 
than is possible by the old methods. Besides the numerous 
excellent gear-moulding machines of Scott, Whittaker, 
Buckley & Taylor, and Simpson, — which, with a small por- 
tion of the pattern corresponding to the gear to be moulded, 
are all able to produce gears from 9 inches diameter up, 
either spur, bevel, mitre, mortise, or worm, plain or 
shrouded, — we have numbers of machines for the produc- 
tion of general work of all descriptions. Some of these 
machines are still worked with hand-levers, but these are 
being rapidly superseded by steam, hydraulic, and pneu- 
matic contrivances, which, with their several automatic 
arrangements, demonstrate the capacity of their builders 
to overcome difficulties which until very lately seemed 
beyond the bounds of possibility. 

The "Tabor" moulding-machine may be used with 
either steam, water, or compressed air; but steam is prefei-- 
able in most cases, because it can be easily obtained with- 
out the use of special auxiliary machinery of any kind. 
The rammer system of this machine gives greater pressure 
at parts which would otherwise be too soft. 

The "Yielding Platen" moulding-machine is provided 
on the top with a rubber bag containing water or com- 



Moulding-sand. ^68 Huck-bar. 

pressed air, and the bottom of the machine is caused to 
risLj by. compressed air, thus forcing the flask with its sand 
against the rubber bag, which, they claim, presses the sand 
in a manner impossible by any other known method. 

The " Teetor '' moulding-machine provides means for 
holding the flask securely and turning it over ; also for 
jarring the pattern and holding the same perfectly level,, to 
allow a clean separation of the mould therefrom. 

Mouldiiig-saiitl.— See Facing-sand. 

Moulding-tools. — Broadly speaking, moulding-tools 
consist of every foundry equipment necessary to make 
moulds with, including shovel, brushes, riddles, clamps, 
wedges, parallels, level compass, vent-rods, gaggers, ram- 
mers, etc.; but the more artistic class, used for finishing 
the moulds with, are the. ones usually recognized as m.oul(l- 
ing-tools. A full description of these, with instructions 
for using them, will be fouud at their respective places 
throughout this work. 

Moulds for Steel.— See Steel Castings; Ingot- 
moulds. 

Moulds, Open-sand.— See Open-sand Moulding, 

Moulds, Pressure in.— See Pressure in Moulds. 

Mousing-liook. — A hook with some contrivance for 
preventing the hook, ring, or link resting therein, from slip- 
ping out, 

Muck-bar. — When the iron has been balled in the 
puddling-furnace, forced through the squeezer, and passed 
once through the rough ing-rolls, it is termed muck-bar , 



Muffle. 369 Nails. 

and is ready for being cut into pieces for piling, reheat- 
ing, and rolling again. See Rollikg-mill. 

Muffle. — An arched vessel with a flat bottom, made of 
refractory materials, in which to place cupels and tests in 
the operations of assaying, to preserve tliem from coming 
in direct contact with the fuel. One end is open, and slits 
on the side allow a draught of air through it. The sub- 
stances operated upon are by this means effectually shielded 
from the impurities of the fuel. See Assay. 

Muiitz-metal* — An alloy of copper and zinc used for 
the sheatliing of ships, composed of copper GO, zinc 40. 
This alloy admits of hot rolling. See Brass ; Copper; 

She ATHIKG -METAL. 

Mvishet Cast Steel is made by melting malleable 
scrap-iron with charcoal and oxide of manganese in cruci- 
bles directly, independent of blister-steel. See Steel. 

Mushet's Crucibles.— See Crucibles. 

Music-metal. — Tin 65.8, antimony 8, copper 26, iron 
3.2. The common alloy is tin 80, copper 20. See Brass; 
Copper; Alloys. 



Nails. — Formerly all nails were made by hand or forged 
on the anvil, and large quantities are still produced in this 
manner in England and other parts of Europe. Nail-mak- 
ing by machinery was originated in Massachusetts in 1810. 
At present we have machine wrought-nails, cut-nails, and 
cast-nails. The machine cut-nails are simply wedge-like in 
breadth, equal in thickness — head and body— to the sheet 



Naphtha. 







Natural Gas. 



iron from which they are cut, and these are always to be 
preferred for strengthening and securing the sand surfaces 
of moulds, rather than those which have had heads forged 
on them. The length of iron machine cut-nails and the 
number contained in a pound will be found in the follow- 
ing table : 





Lengtli 


No. 




Length 


No. 




Length 


No. 


Size. 


in 


in a 


Size. 


in 


in a 


Size. 


in 


in a 




inches. 


pound. 




inches. 


pound. 




inches. 


pound. 


3-Penny. 


n 


420 


6-Penny. 


o 


175 


12-Penny. 


3^ 


52 


4 " 


n 


270 


8 " 


k 


100 


20 " 


3i 


28 


5 " 


If 


220 


10 " 


3 


65 


30 " 
40 " 


4 

4i 


24 
20 



Naphtha. — This word is derived from the Persian 
(to exude), and was originally applied to an inflammable 
liquid hydro-c:irbon which exudes from the soil in certain 
parts of Persia. The term is, liowever, now used to desig- 
nate a similar and almost identical fluid that issues from 
the ground in many parts of the world, and is known as 
petroleum, rock-oil, etc., but the term is also applied to 
other liquids which resemble true naphtha in little else than 
in their volatility and inflammability, as methylic alcohol 
or wood-spirit, etc. See Petroleum. 

Native Iron. — Native iron is of rare occurrence ; it 
almost always forms part of meteoric stones. When found 
it is malleable, and may be worked like manufactured iron. 
See Meteoric Iron. 



Natural Gas. — Gas-springs or gas-wells through 
which issue combustible gases from the earth are to be 
found in various parts of the world. It was by this means 
that the holy fires of Baku, on the Caspian, and the sacred 
fires of the Greeks were supplied with fuel. It is supposed 
to be the same as the fire-damp of coal-mines, which is 



New Red sandstone. 271 Nickel. 

liberated by the pick of tlie miner. In all cases these com- 
bustible gases consist to a large extent of marsh-gas, also 
called light carbu retted hydrogen. (See Marsh-gas.) In 
many cities throughout the States, notably Pittsburg, the 
gas is used altogether as a steam-producer; for heating 
metals, — iron, steel, brass, etc., — in the diverse branches of 
their utilization, except for smelting ore, in which coke con- 
tinues still to be employed. Natural gas has an intense heat- 
ing-power, is free from substances deleterious to metals, is 
cheap and easily handled, and leaves no ashes. One thou- 
sand cubic feet of gas is equivalent in heating-power to 56 
pounds of coal, which represents a saving of 20 per cent at 
first cost, besides the labor of handling and transportation. 
See Fuel. 

New Red-saiiclstoiie. — The name given to a group 
of sandstones, generally of a red color, occurring between 
the carboniferous rocks and the lias, which name is given 
them in contradiction to the old red-sandstone group, 
which lies below the coal-measures and has a similar mineral 
structure. See Old Eed Sandstone; Facing-sand; 
Black Sand. 

New Sand, — Fresh sand from the quarries and pits, 
furnished to the foundries for moulding purposes. See 
Black Sand; Facing-sand; Old Sand. 

Newton's Fnsible Metal.— Bismuth 8, lead 5, tin 
3. This alloy melts at 212°. See Fusible Alloys. 

Nickel. — A white metal which, when pure, io both 
ductile and malleable. Its color is intermediate between 
that of silver and tin, and is not altered by the air. It is 
nearly as hard as iron. Its specific gravity is 8.27, and 
when forged 8.G6. The species of nickel ores are its alloy 



Nickel plating. 272 Nitre. 

with arsenic and a little sulphur and its oxide; the first is 
the most abundant, and the one from which nickel is usually 
extracted. It is known to mineralogists b3^ the German 
name of huiifei' nickel, or false copper, from its color and 
appearance. Nickel only occurs in the native state in 
meteoric stones. 

Nickel fuses at 2800° F. Its ores are found in the 
United States and in Germany, Sweden, and Hungary. 
The effect of the magnet upon pure nickel is very little 
inferior to that which it exerts on iron, but this entirely 
ceases when the metal is heated to 350° F. 

The chief use of nickel has been in the composition of 
various alloys, especially German-silver, all of which are 
duly noticed in their respective order. It is, however, be- 
ing gradually introduced as an alloy with steef for ship's 
armor, etc. See German -silver. 

Nickel-plating. — The art of nickel electro-plating 
was invented by Bottcher about 1848, and had developed 
into an important industry. The best kind of solution to use 
is one of the double sulphate of nickel and ammonia, which 
should be saturated at 25°, and used in conjunction with a 
plate of nickel as positive electrode. See Plating. 

Niello-eiig^raving'. — A kind of engraving of consid- 
erable antiquity. It was very much practised in the middle 
ages. The art consisted in drawing a design with a stylus 
or needle on gold and silver plates, and then cutting it 
with a graver. These incised lines were then filled with a 
composition of copper 1, bismuth 1, lead 1, and silver 9, 
the compound being of a bluish color when a little sulphur 
is added. The metal is called Niello-silver, or Tula. 

Nitre, or Saltpetre, as it is commonly called, occurs 
as a native product in the earth in many parts of the 



Nitric Acid. 273 Nitric Acid. 

world, aud is separated therefrom by leaching the soil and 
allowing the nitre to crystallize. It is artificially formed 
by heaping up organic matter with lime, ashes, and soil, 
and keeping the mass moistened with urine for a lengthened 
period, when the heap is lixiviated and the salt crystallized 
out. Nitre dissolves in about three times its weight of 
cold and oue third its weight of boiling water. Paper 
dipped in this solution and dried forms what is known as 
touch-paper. Mtre has a cooling, saline taste, and strong 
antiseptic powers. Owing to the latter quality it is exten- 
sively used in packing meat. It is chiefly consumed, how- 
ever, in the manufacture of gunpowder ; the large amount 
of oxygen it contains, and the feeble aflfinity by which it is 
held, adapting it for sudden and rapid combustiob. 

Nitric Acid. — The two principal constituent parts of 
our atmosphere — oxygen and nitrogen gases — when in cer- 
tain proportions are capable under particular circumstances 
of combining chemically into one of the most powerful 
acids — the nitric. For all practical purposes, nitric acid is 
obtained from nitrate of potash, from which it is expelled 
by sulphuric acid. 

The nitric acid is of considerable use in the arts. It is 
employed for etching on copper ; as a solvent of tin to 
form with that metal a mordant for some of the finest 
dyes; in metallurgy and assaying, in various chemical pro- 
cesses, on account of the facility with which it parts with 
oxygen and dissolves metals. For the purposes of the arts 
it is commonly used in a diluted state and adulterated 
with sulphuric and muriatic acids, by the name of aqua- 
fortis. Two kinds are made : one called douhle aqua- 
fortis, ^n\\\q\\ is one half the strength of nitric acid; the 
other simply aquafortis, which is half the strength of the 
double. A compound made by mixing two parts of the 
nitric acid with one of muriatic, known formerly by the 



Nitro^n. ^^4 Numbering Pig Iron. 

name of aqua regia, and now by that of nitro-muriatic 
acid, has the property of dissolving gold and platina. On 
mixing the two acids heat is given out, an effervescence 
tiikes place, and the mixture acquires an orange color. See 
Aqua Regia; Atmosphere. 

Nitrogen. — A gas discovered by Rutherford in 1772. 
It is extensively diffused in nature, forming about four 
fifths of the atmosphere, in which it plays the important 
part of diluting the oxygen and adapting it to the condi- 
tions of life. It is an important element of the vegetable 
kingdom, entering in considerable quantity into many of 
its compounds. It is supplied to plants by ammonia and 
nitric acid. Our food is largely composed of nitrogen, and 
it forms 16 per cent of the tissues of the animal body. 
Nitrogen is not found in any of the mineral formations of 
the earth's crust, except in some varieties of coal. See 
Atmosphere; Oxygen; Ammonia. 

Nosing. — The projecting moulding on the edge of a 
stair tread, which stands immediately in front at the top 
edge of the riser. 

Nowel. — The bottom flask in a set composed of cope 
and nowel. See Flasks. 

Numbering Pig Iron. — The numbers given to pig 
iron, as No. 1, No. 2, No. 3, etc., is sim^^ly a commercial 
classification in order to distinguish the various qualities 
as delivered from the blast-furnaces, indicating to the pur- 
chaser the grade or quality of each brand and the purposes 
for which they are best adapted. No. 1 invariably shows 
the largest crystals, is soft and bright, and adapted for 
light castings; No. 2, of the same brand, will be recognized 
as lighter in color, with smaller crystals, suitable for general 



Nurnberg Gold. 275 Oils and Fats. 

work, machinery, etc. ; while again, of the same brand we 
may have a more dense iron, with indications of mottle, 
which is denominated No. 3; and so on to white iron, a 
higher number still. See Oast iROis", White Iron, Gray 
Iron", Mottled Iron. 

Number of Nails in a Pound. — See Nails. 

Nurnberg Gold.— A mock gold, exactly like Man- 
heim. See Manheim Gold. 

Nuts in Loam-plates. — When it is desired to 
connect one or more plates (with the intervening bricks), 
in loam-moulding, where staples for hook-bolts would be 
objectionable, a reliable substitute for the latter will be 
found by casting threaded nuts at parts of the plate con- 
venient for inserting iron bolts'with threads on both ends. 
The nuts can be made immovable in the plate by filing 
a slight V at the corners for the molten iron to fill when 
the plates are cast. See Binding-plates. 



O. 

Oils and Fats.— Fats are merely solid or semi-fluid 
oils. The fixed oils and fats form a well-defined group of 
organic compounds, which are abundantly obtained from 
the animal and vegetable kingdoms. They are not so 
heavy as water, their specific gravity ranging from 0.91 to 
0.94. Tliey diSer very much in their degrees of solidity, 
and do not consist of any single substance in a state of 
purity, being principally mixtures in varying proportions 
of four different but olosely-allied bodies, viz. : stearine 
(or suet); palmitine (so called from olive-oil, being very 
abundant in the latter); margarine (from a pearl, owing 



Oils and Fats. 376 Oils and Fats. 

to its pearly lustre) ; and oleine. The three first are solid 
at common temperatures, while the fourth remains liquid. 
Fat is softer and its melting-point lower in proportion to 
the quantity of oleine it contains. 

Fats are all soluble in ether, oil of turpentine, benzol, 
and to a certain extent in alcohol, but not in water. The 
most solid fat sare readily reducible, and become reduced 
to a fluid or oily state at a temperature lower than that 
of the boiling-point of water. When the fats or oils are 
boiled with an alkali they undergo the remarkable change 
called saponification. The fat by this process is decom- 
posed into a fatty acid and glycerine, the acid combining 
with the alkali to form soap, and the glycerine passes into 
solution. 

Ohevreul discovered that the fats and oils consisted of 
several proximate principles, known as sfearinefmargai'inc, 
and oleine, which are each capable of being separated into 
an acid and a base, the base being the same in all, and 
known as glycerine. 

Oleine is that portion of oil which, as before said, causes 
its fluidity. Stearine gives to certain fats and oils tiie 
opposite quality of solidity, as in candles, etc. Margarine 
resembles stearine in its property of hardness: it exists in 
human fat, butter, olive-oil, etc. 

The fixed oils are of two classes — ^the drying oils, or those 
which harden on exposure to the air; and the unctuous 
oils, or those which remain soft and greasy under the same 
exposure. The hardening of the oils is due to the absorp- 
tion of oxygen. 

The most important of the drying oils is linseed, which 
is obtained by subjecting flaxseeds to pressure. Next in 
importance as a drying oil for paints is hemp-seed, poppy, 
and walnut. The most important non-drying oils are 
olive-oil, almond-oil, and colza-oil, which ai-e extensively 
used in making soap, candles, and illuminating oils, Cas- 



Oil-stone. 27')' Opal. 

tor-oil is a connecting link to tliese two classes of oils, being 
gradually hardened by long exposure to the atmosphere. 

The drying property of oils is much increased by heating 
them with about .05 of their weight of litharge, which 
becomes dissolved by the oil. Linseed-oil thus treated is 
known as boiled oil. See Litharge. 

Oil-stone. — See Whetstone. 

Old Red-sandstone.— This group of sandstone lies 
below the carboniferous strata, and was called "old" to 
distinguish it from a series of similar strata which occur 
above the coal-measures. See New Red- sandstone. 

Old Sand.— See Black Sand; New Sand; Facing- 
sand. 

Oleine.— See Oils. 

Olive Bronze Dip for Brass.— Nitric acid 3 
ounces, muriatic acid 2 ounces; add titanium or palladium. 
When the metal is dissolved add two gallons of pure soft 
water to each pint of the solution. See Stains for Met- 
als. 

Onyx. — A chalcedony, with alternate layers of white, 
black, and brown. It is found in Saxony, Arabia, and 
Ireland, and is used largely for cameos. See Precious 
Stones. 

Oolite. — A variety of limestone, so called from its 
being composed of small rounded grains resembling the 
roe of a fish, cemented together by a calcareous formation. 
See Limestone. 

Opal. — A species of the quartz family of minerals, from 



Open hearth Cast Steel. '^'^8 Open-hearth Cast SteeL 

whicli it differs in coDtaining 5 to 13 per cent of wuter. 
It is a precious stone, consisting principally of silica with 
some alumina. AVhen first dug from the earth it is soft, 
but it hardens and diminishes in bulk by exposure to the 
air. The specific gravity varies from 1.9 to 2.5. Sub- 
species of this gem are called the semi and the wood opal. 
It is translucent, usually blue or yellowish white, and ex- 
hibits a beautiful play of brilliant colors owing to minute 
fissures which refract the light. Found in Hungary, 
Queenstown, and the United States. See Minerals ; 
Peecious Sto:n^es. 

Opeii-li earth Cast Steel. — This steel is produced 
on a large scale and is so called to distinguish it from steel 
made by the Bessemer process, by puddling, or from blister- 
steel melted in the crucible. 

Heath, in 1845, patented his invention of producing 
cast steel by dissolving malleable scrap in molten cast iron 
by a process independent of crucibles, by melting pig iron 
in a cupola, and running this into the bed of a steel-making 
furnace, into the upper part of which the malleable iron 
was introduced in bars, that they might be heated by the 
waste heat and gradually pushed forward so as to dissolve 
in the molten pig, with the formation of steel. Siemens 
said this method would have been successful had the re- 
generative principle been known to Heath, whereby he 
could have obtained tlie requisite intensity of heat and 
absence of cutting draught essential to the proper combi- 
nation together, by fusion, of the wrought and carbonized 
iron without oxidation. Substantially, with the addition 
of the use of a regenerative furnace and improved working 
details, it is one of the forms of steel-making now known 
as the Siemens or Siemens-Martin processes. By employ- 
ing the open-hearth and steel-melting regenerative furnace 
in the processes of steel-making, the highest possible tern- 



Open-sand Moulding. 279 Open-sand Moulding. 

peratures are attainable, and the evil effects of a cutting 
flame and strong draught are obviated. 

The Siemens or ore process of producing steel consists 
in melting hematite or other pig iron free from sulphur 
and phosphorus, and then adding in small quantities at 
a time an equally pure ore until a sample, taken out from 
time to time, does not hardcM on plunging into water 
while red-hot. To the fused iron spiegeleisen, etc., is then 
added. Another method consists of a combination of the 
Martin and the ore process ; the pig and scrap, etc., being 
fused together, and the decarbonization being then eifected, 
not through oxidation by the gases alone, but by that 
together with ore added to the mass. The Pernot furnace 
for steel-making is simply a Siemens-Martin furnace with 
a rotating bed, the heai-th being a saucer-shaped cavity 
supported by an iron frame, mounted on a nearly vertical 
axis, and running on wheels upon a rail or guide, supported 
on a stout bogie. Tiie bed is rotated by means of gear- 
wheels. The charges of pig iron and sci-ap are well heated 
before being placed on the hearth, which, when it is made 
to revolve at from 2 to 4 revolutions per minute, causes the 
different pieces to keep constantly changing their position; 
and this, coupled with the fact that one half of the bed is 
being alternately brought under the full action of the flame 
as the charge slips down at each revolution, brings about a 
very rapid fusion of the mass. See Eegenerative Fcjr- 

i^ACE. 

Opeii-saiid Moulding*. — The process of moulding 
castings that have one plain side, in the sand floor of the 
foundry. Even for such castings it is usual to cover them 
with a cope, which, when secured, permits of pressure being 
applied to force the metal close to the upper surface, so that 
the casting has nearly the same appearance all over; but 
when the metal is poured into an open mould it must as- 



Ordnance ^SO Ordnance. 

Slime a horizontal position of its own accord. If, when the 
open mould has been cast, fine dry sand is scattered evenly 
over the surface of molten iron to the depth of one-fourth 
of an inch, it will shield the metal from the action of the 
atmosphere and thus prevent the formation of blisters, 
which almost always rise when the surface is left unpro- 
tected. When the mass has solidified more sand may be 
added with the shovel, in such quantity and location as will 
favor equal cooling of the whole. See Bed. 

Ordnance signifies, in its most comprehensive sense, 
every kind of artillery, including guns, mortars, howitzers, 
etc. Many of the early pieces of ordnance were made of 
hooped bars. The mortar, which was introduced about 
the commencement of the fourteenth century, was the first 
European firearm. About the beginning of the fifteenth 
century bronze cannon were cast, and it is probable that 
cast-iron cannon of small calibre were made during the 
sixteenth century. However, there is positive evidence of 
iron cannon being cast about 1740 by English workmen, who 
were afterwards taken across the Channel to teach French- 
men the art. 

Cannon-founding has therefore been practised nearly 
five hundred years; but it would appear, from the wonder- 
ful specimens in steel and wrought iron lately produced 
by Armstrong, Whitworth, Krupp, and some others, that 
the art of casting ordnance was doomed to decay, as even 
the monster 300-pounder rifled Parrott and the 15-inch 
450-pounder Rodman appear almost insignificant when 
compared with the more modern steel monsters constructed 
by the above-named inventors. 

Bronze and cast-iron cannon are cast in loam or sand in 
moulds prepared in the customary manner. They are cast 
vertically, with an addition to the length to make uj) for 
shrinkage, and also to carry off the sullage. It was for- 



Oreide. 281 Oreide. 

merly the practice to cast them hollow ; since then, how- 
ever, solid ones have occasionally been preferred. But the 
results were not satisfactory, and the liodman principle has 
been extensively adopted, the idea being to cool the metal in 
layers from the inside outwards, thus modifying the initial 
strain upon the gun, and producing the best results that may 
be expected from cast iron for ordnance purposes. The 
method is to flow cold water through the core-barrel dur- 
ing the process of casting and for a stated time afterwards, 
according to the thickness of the casting. The manner of 
constructing the mould is as follows : The mould is a dry- 
sand one, contained in circular sectional casings of length 
sufficient for the casting with its sinking head. The chief 
feature is the core- barrel, which consists of a sound, water- 
tight cast pipe or barrel, with flutes on its exterior surface 
along its whole length, to permit tlie gas to escape upwards 
from behind the hemp and loam with which the barrel is 
coated. After the mould has been closed together the bar- 
rel is attached to a spider or tripod, the legs of which rest 
upon the top flange of the casing ; adjustable screws at 
the ends of each leg admit of a ready adjustment of the 
core after it has been suspended and lowered into its place 
in the mould. The water for cooling is led to the bottom 
of the core-barrel by a pipe which stands central in the 
space; it then ascends through the annular space between 
the pipe and the barrel, and flows off by a suitable arrange- 
ment at the top. For a 15-inch gun treated this way the 
barrel may be withdrawn in about twenty hours, after 
which a continuous flow of cold air is forced through the 
bore until the casting is cool enough to be removed, which 
in this case is about nine or ten days. See Spider ; Oore- 
BARREL ; Dry-sand Moulding. 

Oreide. — An alloy supposed to be of French origin; it 
is used as a substitute for '^ormolu" in the manufacture 



Ores. ^B2 6re^. 

of cheap jewelry, excelling the hitter alloy very much in 
its gold-like character. First, melt copper 100, then add 
and stir well in magnesia 6, sal-ammoniac 3.G, quicklime 
9.12, tartar of commerce 9, and zinc or tin 17, in the order 
as given. This must be kept fusing about three quarters 
of an hour before it is used. 

Copper 80, zinc 13.5, nickel 6.5 is recommended as equal 
to the former as an oreide mixture. See Ormolu; Mosaic 
Gold; Mock Gold; Gold; Tombac. 

Ores are the mineral bodies from which metals are 
extracted, the latter being found therein sometimes in a 
metallic state, and so nearly pure as to be called native 
metals. But it is generally in a state of ore that metal 
occurs, that is, in combination with its mineralizing sub- 
stance. 

When metals combine in the metallic state they are 
termed alloys; combined with acids, they form carbon- 
ates, bromides, phosphates, chlorides, etc., and are then 
designated '})(etallic salts. With sulphur they form sul- 
phurets and sulphides; and, again, combined with oxygen 
they form the numerous oxides. 

The soil and rocks consist of metallic oxides, but the 
chief metals are not so widely disseminated. They are 
found in various places and at different depths below the 
surface, in the form of seams, beds, or mineral veins, and 
sometimes as lodes (See Lode). The treatment of ores for 
obtaining the metal is mechanical and chemical, the more 
valuable ores requiring considerable care in their manage- 
ment; but the operations vary considerably, according to 
the kind of ore under treatment. 

The ores of lead and tin when brought to the surface 
are at once sorted, and the purest lumps set aside for treat- 
ment in the smelting-furnace ; what is left, after being 
subjected to a crushing or hammering process, is again 



Ores. 283 Ormulo. 

sorted. What remains is then crushed in revolving cylin- 
ders and passes through sieves, the finer residue being agi- 
tated in water by a process termed jigging. The crushing 
is completed in the stmnjiing-mill, where the ore is repeat- 
edly pounded and washed, and the powdered ores settle in 
layers, according to their specific gravity. 

The chemical treatment of ores is invariably twofold — 
roasting or calcining, and reducing. (See Calcination.) 
If they contain volatile products, as sulphur and arsenic, 
which may be remove^ by oxidation or heat, they are first 
roasted. This is accomplished in a kind of reverberatory 
furnace, where the fuel is served at one end and the flame 
and heated gases are reverberated or thrown down from 
the arched roof of the furnace upon the ore, which is 
disti-ibuted over its bed. In this way ores are oxidized. 
Should the oie contain sulphur, it is burned off and passes 
away as sulphurous acid, while arsenic escapes in the form 
of arsenious acid. Sometimes lead is at once procured by 
the operation of roasting, or it is changed to the state of 
oxide, which necessitates another process to s.et it free. 

Reduction of ores means the chemical process of deoxid- 
ation, or smelting. It is effected by heating them to a 
high temperature in contact with substances which take 
the oxygen from the metal by superior affinity. Carbon 
is the chief among deoxidizing agents, and removes the 
oxygen in the form of carbonic oxide and carbonic acid. 
For the removal of the numerous earthy impurities, sub- 
stances are employed which are called ^^/^Te,s"/ these readily 
combine with them in a molten condition and flow off as a 
slag. See Cast Iron ; Reduction of Ores. 

Org'aii-pipes are usually made from a composition of 
tin 9, lead 1, subject to slight variations. See Alloys; 
White Alloys; Tin; Lead. 

Ormolu. — A variety of brass having a near resem- 



Ormolu Dipping Acid. 284 Ounce. 

blance to gold, containing from 25 to 50 of zinc to 50 of 
copper, according to tlie tint desired. To successfully fuse 
this alloy, let the zinc be added to the fused copper at the 
lowest temperature possible, gradually introducing the zinc 
until the whole amount has been added. In many cases it 
is used for the ornamentation of furniture. A gold lacquer 
is sometimes used to heighten the color of the alloy, but 
the native color of the metal may be preserved if properly 
brought out by means of sulphuric acid, then washing in 
water, and applying a liquor varnish to keep it from 
tarnishing. See Brass; DiPPii^G; 'Stain's for Metals; 
Oreide. 

Oriuolu Dipping: Acid for Sheet Brass.— 

Sulphuric acid 2 gallons, nitric acid 1 pint, muriatic acid 
1 pint, water 1 pint, nitre 12 pounds. Put in the muriatic 
acid last, a little at a time, and stir with a stick. For cast 
brass: Sulphuric acid 1 quart, nitre 1 quart, water 1 quart; 
a little muriatic acid may be added or omitted. See Dip- 
ping. 

Ormolued Brass Dipping Acid.— Sulphuric 
acid 1 gallon, nitric acid 1 gallon. This is a quick bright 
dipping acid for brass-work that has been already or- 
molued. See Dipping. 

Osmium. — This metal was discovered by Tennant in 
1803. It belongs to the class usually termed "noble," and 
occurs in association with platinum in the form of an alloy 
with iridium. It is the least fusible of all the metals, as 
the oxyhydrogen jet will volatilize, but not fuse it. This 
metal, like iridium, is extensively employed for tipping 
gold pens. See Metals. 

Ounce. — A division of the pound weight in English. 



Ovens for Drying Moulds. 285 Ovens for Drying Moulds. 

In Troy weight it means the twelfth part of a pound, and 
weighs 480 grains. In avoirdupois weight the ounce is the 
sixteenth part of a ponnd, and equal to 437| grains Troy. 

Ovens for Drying: Monlds and Cores.— 5^fuch 
subsequent annoyance and loss is saved by exercising 
forethought with regard to location, size, and ^tyle of oven 
when it has been decided to build a neiv or make extensive 
•alterations in an old foundry. Some moulds, owing to 
their magnitude and form, must necessarily be built in the 
casting-pit and dried there. The pit becomes, in such 
cases, a drying stove or oven by simply closing the mouth 
and building open fires at convenient places on the bottom 
if wood or bituminous coal is used for fuel; if anthra- 
cite coal must be the fuel, then recourse mu^t be had to 
extemporized exterior fireplaces, with suitable arrange- 
ments for creating a draught. It is, however, possible, in 
some instances, to build large moulds in sections, and by 
this means convey all the parts to the oven to be dried — 
a very superior way when it can be done. Temporary 
contrivances for drying smallcores are to be met with in 
almost every foundry, from the rim and bottom-plate of 
the heating stove to the more elaborate device consisting 
of wrought- or cast-iron sides bolted together, inside of 
which are slides to rest shelves upon, the top having a hole 
with raised edge to receive a stove-pipe. The hinged door 
may be the full size of the oven, so as to expose all parts 
of the oven at once. An ordinary fire-pot, with provision 
for draught underneath, can be set down in the floor and 
this oven set over it, or the plates may be long enough to 
permit the fireplace to be enclosed within the structure, 
and thus make the oven a portable one. 

Millet's patent core-oven for small cores is a brick struc- 
ture Avith an iron front, to which is attached the necessary 
hinges for swinging the perforated shelves in and out, 



Ovens for Drying Moulds. '^^^ Ovens for Drying Moulds. 

Each of the shelves works independently, and, by means 
of a duplicate door on the back, the oven is closed, thus 
retaining the heat in the oven while the cores are being 
loaded or unloaded. It will be seen that no heat escapes. 
Cores may be handled with dispatch, as all operations are 
conducted outside, so that both fuel and time are econo- 
mized. Other excellent ovens for small cores may be 
obtained from the supply dealers at a very low cost, which 
when placed down on the floor and a pipe connection 
made are at once ready for use. 

Steam-heated ovens are now very numerous. They con- 
sist of steam-piping laid direct from the boiler to the oven, 
where a valve controls the amount of steam allowed to 
enter a system of coils, which latter constitute the core 
shelves as well, being set -somewhat slanting for drainage. 
Sixty pounds steam-pressure in the coils give a tempera- 
ture in the oven of 250°, which is sufficient to dry ordinary 
cores without the possibility of burning them ; an increased 
pressure will, of course, give greater heat. Ventilation is 
perhaps best secured by a somewhat loose-fitting door and 
an outlet at the bottom of the wall. The ordinary ovens 
for drying large moulds and cores are, as a rule, very 
defective, lacking in suitable rack and carriage accommo- 
dation, — two very important features, well worthy of more 
than ordinary consideration. To save the annoyance and 
loss attendant on moving heavy loads in and out of the 
oven, they may very readily be constructed of two main 
walls of masonry, having hinge fixings built in them on 
the top and ends, to which plate-iron doors may be accu- 
rately hinged. When the moulds are ready for the oven, 
the covers are thrown back and the end or ends opened, so 
that a free passage is made for loading direct from the 
crane to the oven, and thus obviating the jarring of the 
moulds which usually attends transit on carriages. Clos- 
ing over the top covers and shutting in the ends converts 



Overhead Cranes. 287 Oxide, Carbonic. 

this into an admiiuble oven at once, wliich, when the 
mouKls are dry, may be opened again and become, as it 
were, part of the foundry floor, on whicli the moulds may 
rest safely until required for closing and casting. For 
description and details of special large oven constructed 
by the author, see " The Iron Founder," p. 52. See also 
Damper; Rotary Oveks. 

Overhead Cranes.— See Cranes ; Iron-carrier. 

Oxalic Acid. — This substance exists as binoxalate of 
potash in common sorrel and the rhubarb plant, which 
accounts for the acid taste common to those vegetables. 
As oxalate of soda it is found in the barilla plant, and as 
oxalate of lime in lichens. It is commonly prepared by 
the oxidation of sugar or starch with nitric acid : 1 part of 
sugar is dissolved in 8 parts of nitric acid and gently 
heated, when intense action ensues, with a copious disen- 
gagement of nitrous-acid fumes. The crystals obtained 
are sour and poisonous, resembling Epsom salts, for which 
they are often mistaken. Chalk or magnesia suspended in 
water acts as an antidote in cases of poisoning. This acid 
is extensively used in calico-printing, and is also employed 
as a test for the presence of lime. It also removes ink and 
iron stains from cloth by forming a soluble oxalate of iron, 
but the fabric suffers injury if the acid be not washed off 
immediately. 

Oxidation. — The process or converting metals or 
other substances into oxides, by combining with them a 
certain portion of oxygen. It differs from acidification in 
the addition of oxygen not being sufficient to form an acid 
with the substance oxidized. See Oxides; Oxygen. 

Oxide, Carbonic— When a mixture of purified 
charcoal and oxide of iron or zinc is exposed to a strong 



Oxides. 288 Oxygen, 

heat in an iron retort/ the metallic oxide is gradually re- 
duced, and during the reduction a great quantity of gas is 
evolved. This gas is a mixture of carbonic-acid gas and 
another gas, which burns with a blue flame and is called 
carbonic oxide. See Gas; Oxygek. 

Oxides.- Substances combined with oxygen without 
being in a state of acid. The metallic oxides are the most 
important, and occur naturally as abundant and valuable 
ores. See Metals; Ores; Reduction of Ores; Oxy- 
gen. 

Oxiflized Metal is silver or other metal subjected 
to a process of dipping into a boiling solution of hyposul- 
phite of soda or ammonium sulphide, continuing the pro- 
cess until the required degree of discoloration has taken 
place. It may then be varnished with non-transparent 
varnish consisting of alcohol 18, red arsenic 3, castor- 
oil 1. See Dipping; Lacquering; Staining Metals. 

Oxyg^eii. — This gas was obtained by Dr. Priestley in 
1774 from red oxide of mercury exposed to a burning lens, 
and again in the following year by the Swedish chemist 
Scheele. With regard to the importance of this great dis- 
covery Prof. Liebig observes: "Since the discovery of oxy- 
gen the civilized world has undergone a revolution in man- 
ners and customs. The knowledge of the composition of 
the atmos;)here, of the solid crust of the earth, of water, 
and of their influence upon the life of plants and animals, 
was linked with that discovery. The successful pursuit of 
innumerable trades and manufactures, the profitable sepa- 
ration of metals from their ores, also stand in the closest 
connection therewith. It may well be said that the material 
prosperity of empires has increased manifold since the time 
oxygen became known, and the fortune of every individual 



Oxyhydrogen Blowpipe. 289 Oyster shells, 

has been augmented in proportion/^ Eight ninths of water 
consist of oxygen; it forms one fifth of air and about 
one half of silica, chalk, and alumina, which three constitute 
the chief substances of the earth^s surface. It is abso- 
lutely essential for the support of animal life. In mechan- 
ical combination with nitrogen it forms the atmosphere 
surrounding the globe, and is given off by all growing plants 
when under the influence of sunlight. Its chemical affinities 
for other elementary substances are very powerful, combin- 
ing with all except fluorine. Owing to the intensity with 
which many of these combinations takes place, this gas has 
the power of supporting combustion in an eminent degree. 
It is tasteless, colorless, inodorous, and has hitherto resisted 
all attempts to liquify it. Combustion is nothing more 
than a chemical union of the oxygen of the air with the 
combustible body or some of its elements. We make the 
fire hotter by bringing more air in contact with the fueL 
See Combustion"; Flame, etc. 

Oxyhydrogen Blowpipe.— An apparatus for 
burning oxygen and hydrogen together to produce very 
high temperature. Now extensively used for melting plati- 
num and other metals. The oxygen and hydrogen pass 
through separate tubes and mix at the mouth of the jet, 
producing the most intense heat known. 

Oyster-shells. — The carbonate of lime being the 
prevalent component of the oyster-shell, it has on that ac- 
count been substituted for limestone as a flux in the cupola 
at many foundries. But shells are not as effective for this 
purpose as good limestone, owing to the adhering impu- 
rities, which invariably contain some phosphorus. See 
Shells; Limestone Flux ; Flux; Phosphoeus. 



Packfong. 290 Pan. 



P. 

Packfong^. — Au alloy much used by the Chinese, and 
by them called " white copper," consists of copper 40.4, 
nickel 31.6, zinc 25.4, iron 2.6. See German-silver; 
White Alloys. 

Packing Sand. — The process of forcing sand iuto 
the flasks or around patterns bedded in the floor is some- 
times termed packing. See Ramming. 

Pallaclinni. — This metal closely resembles platinum 
in color and appearance ; it is also very malleable and 
ductile. It is not so dense as platinum, being only 11.8, 
and it is more easily oxidized than that metal, but cannot 
be melted at ordinary temperatures. Palladium readily 
alloys with other metals. When alloyed with silver it is very 
suitable for the graduations on mathematical instruments, 
etc. It is used also as a galvanizing agent for protecting 
other metals when amalgamated with mercury, the iron or 
other articles being cleansed previously as for zinking. 
See Metals; Zinking. 

Pan, or Kettle, is usually a wide, shallow, round or 
spherical - shaped vessel, of cast-iron or other metal, em- 
ployed in the manufacture of sugar, salt chemicals, soap, 
tin-plate, and in the various processes connected with 
metallurgy. For sugar-refining there are evaporating-pans, 
vacuum-pans, condensing-kettles, vats, coolers, etc. Salt- 
pans are usually very wide and shallow, and are set in rows 
over a furnace. The brine is pumped into them, the heat 
evaporates the water, and the salt precipitates. The chem- 
ical works employ large numbers of pans of different shapes, 
heavy and light, such as the flat furnace-pans, 8 to 10 feet 



Paper-moulding. 291 Paper- moulding. 

across, which are sometimes over 6 inches thick ut the 
crown; lighter ones, as crystallizing cones, etc., are used in 
large numbers. Pans for soap-making are termed ^' boilers," 
and consist of a deep, circular, tapered pan with a spherical 
bottom. Brackets cast on the sides serve to set the pan on 
standards over the fire. Pans used for tin-plate are of cast 
iron. They are set in a row, and are named, respectively, 
the tin-pot, wash-pot, grease-pot, pan, and list-pot. Pans 
for metallurgical purposes are termed amalgamators, being 
usually an open, flat-bottomed, pan in which the pulverized 
ore and mercury are ground together between slabs of stone 
or metal. (See Amalgamation^.) Owing to the great de- 
mand for castings of this class, much ingenuity has been 
practised for moulding them readily, resulting in well- 
established methods of production, which far excel the 
ordinary systems of moulding. See Kettle; Casing. 

Paper-iiiouldiiig consists of grinding old paper 
along with other materials into a pulp, which by the aid of 
presses and other machinery is moulded into the required 
form, dried, and then subjected to the processes of sizing, 
decoratings etc. It is used extensively in the production 
of architectural ornaments, etc., being less brittle than 
plaster for that purpose. By mixing white of egg, sul- 
phate of iron, glue, or quicklime, etc., with the pulp it is 
partly made waterproof, and to make it almost fireproof 
it only requires a further admixture of borax and sulphate 
of soda. Another method of producing articles in paper is 
to glue sheets of paper together and then subject the whole 
to powerful pressure in dies accurately fashioned to the 
form of article to be made. This operation is performed 
when the sheets are moist, which admits of the requisite 
curvature and flexure without damage to the article, which 
when dry becomes as hard as board, and is then ready to 



Paper-parting. 292 Parallel Straight-edges. 

be operated upon by the Japanuers, inlayers, aud other 
artists in ornamentation. 

Paper-l>artiiig^. — Ordinary moulding-sand will not 
adhere to paper that is free from substances of a gummy or 
gluey nature, no matter how hard it has been rammed 
thereon. For this reason it makes an excellent substitute 
for parting-sand at parts of a joint where it is difficult to 
apply the sand in either a wet or dry condition. See Part- 
ing; Joint; Partikg-sand. 

Paper Sheathing for Studs. — It is sometimes 
convenient to use a plain stem chaplet at parts of a casting 
where there is not sufficient body of metal to partially fuse, 
and thus fasten it. In such a case the surrounding cast 
iron is chilled, and it is with great difficulty that a thread 
can be made by which to insert a plug. If, before the 
chaplet is inserted in the mould, a thick layer of paper be 
glued thereon and an extra coat of silver-lead applied, the 
hole will be clean and the metal soft for tapping. 

Paraffiiie is a product of the distillation of wood (es- 
pecially beech-wood), coal, and petroleum. It is a white, 
hard, inodorous, tasteless, crystalline solid, resembling sper- 
maceti. It melts at 111°, and is formed into candles, which 
burn with a very bright flame. It is a pure hydrocarbon. 
Paraffine-oil is the term given to the thin oily matter 
given off during the process of distillation. See Petro- 
leum. 

Parallel Straight-edges are two straight strips 
of wood or metal, of equal Avidths along their length. By 
setting them edge up, some distance apart, on a pattern or 
mould, and allowing the eye to range along the upper edges 
of both, any deviation from a true and even surface is soon 



Paris Gold. S93 Parting-sand. 

discovered^ the eye being very quick to detect any dis- 
crepancy. See Level; Bed. 

Paris Gold. — A clieap imitation of the pure metal. 
See Oreide; Tombac. 

Parisian White Metal is composed of copper 69.8, 
zinc 5.5, cadmium 4.7, nickel 19.8. See AViiite Alloys. 

Part. — A foundry term, used to signify any one of the 
sections composing a set of flasks ; as top-part, middle- 
part, bottom-part, etc. See Flasks. 

Particle. — A minute part of matter, an assemblage of 
general atoms, of which natural bodies are composed, as a 
2Jarticle of sand, etc. 

Parting. — The joint or point of separation in moulds 
composed of two or more sections. A suitably prepared 
surface at some portion of a mould that will permit one 
part to be separated from another without fracturing the 
sand structure. For a separation of plain moulds con- 
tained in a cope and nowel, the sand-joint is made smooth 
and sprinkled all over with dry parting-sand, which pre- 
vents any portion of the sand rammed over it in the cope 
from adhering thereto. But should any portion of such 
joint assume a vertical or other form than the horizontal, 
the parting-sand must be moistened before it will adheie 
to the joint surface; especially is this the case with draw- 
backs, which separate in a vertical position. In either of 
the latter-mentioned cases paper maybe substituted for the 
moistened parting-sand. See Drawbacks; Paper-part- 
iKG ; Parting-sand. 

Parting-sand is sand specially adapted to the pre- 
vention of joint, or separating surfaces amalgamating when 



Paste. ^94 Paste Gems. 

they have been rammed against each other. Beach and 
river sands are eminently adapted for this purpose, as all 
clayey compounds have, by tlie action of the water, been 
washed out. New fine free sand, well burnt to eliminate 
every trace of clay, is adapted for use as a parting-sand; and 
it may be said that the beach and river sands have their 
parting qualities enhanced by burning, the burnt cores 
fiom the castings being always preferred to the new sands. 
See Parting ; Joint ; etc. 

Paste. — Foundry-paste is simply flour mixed with 
water to a consistency suitable for the joining together of 
dry-sand cores and moulds that are made in sections. It 
may also be used in the coring of moulds when it is desir- 
able to effectually prevent the escape of metal at the points 
of junction, its spreading quality permitting the soft, yield- 
ing mass to be forced into every crevice, where, if the mould 
be hot enough, it dries into a hard impenetrable mass. 
There is much danger, however, in using too much paste, 
especially in cold moulds. When the molten metal enters 
the mould the wet surfaces are at once converted into 
steam, which, if not all ejected during the process of cast- 
ing, seldom fails in producing blow-holes at some part or 
other. See Size; Blister; Blow-holes. 

Paste Gems are a glass imitation of precious stones, 
made from a combination of silica, potash, borax, red oxide 
of lead, witli some arsenic. This is fused gently in Hessian 
crucibles, in the furnace, for about twenty-four hours, and 
it then becomes a base for the manufacture of all the spu- 
rious gems. For the ruby, 72 parts of oxide of manganese 
are mixed with 2880 parts of the paste; emerald — green 
oxide of copper 42, and oxide of chrome 2, to paste 4608 
parts — sapphire: oxide of cobalt 68, to paste 4608 parts; 
fused for thirty hours. Amethyst — oxide of manganese 



Patent Fluxes. 



295 Patent Fluxes. 



36, oxide of cobalt 24, purple of cassius 1, to paste 4608. 
The tints of the real stone are so exactly imitated iu many 
of these imitations as to deceive any but the best judges; 
See Precious Stones. 

Patent Fluxes. — In addition to the limestone, fluor- 
spar, and other fluxes, used in the cupola, blast-furnaces, 
puddling-furnace, smelting and refining, steel, and copper 
and brass works, there are numerous other compounds, etc., 
which are protected by letters-patent, by the use of which 
it is claimed that steel can be welded to steel or iron, with 
the best results; preventing the metal from burning by 
flowing easily, and enveloping it so as to exclude the air. 
For cupola-melting it is claimed they Avill save fuel, im- 
prove iron, make clean cupolas, and other improvements 
too numerous to mention. 

Mr. Kirk, author of " Founding of Metals," is the inven- 
tor of a flux for the cupola, and in presenting his compound 
says as follows: ^^It will make hard iron soft, will reduce 
the percentage of iron lost in melting, will cleanse iron 
of impurities, will flux the cupola, and make a brittle slag. 
In introducing this compound as a cupola-flux, we intro- 
duce an entirely different theory of fluxing from that used 
in a blast-furnace, or that formerly used in the cupola, for 
we propose to flux the iron entirely with the gases gener- 
ated by the compound, and not with the slag formed by it. 
The chemicals which we use in the compound are very 
rich in carbon, and when distributed over the fuel and 
heated by it they generate a very strong carbonic gas in 
the cupola, and this gas is absorbed by the iron from the 
time it begins to heat until it is drawn out of the cupola ; 
so that we have a great deal more time to operate upon it 
than any of the mineral fluxes do, yet we do not have time 
enough to change an iron from one extreme to the other, 



Pattern. 296 Pattern 

and can only improve it to a certain extent at one melting; 
but by continued re-melting witli the compound we can 
change the hardest of iron to the softest. If any founder 
doubts this theory of fluxing and improving iron by the 
gases, he has only to throw sufficient brimstone into his 
cupola on the fuel to form a sulphuric gas in the cupola, 
and he will find his iron to be as hard as glass; and if iron 
can be hardened by one gas, it can be softened by another." 
See Flux; Cupola; Slag. 

Pattern. — In moulding, the pattern is a counterpart 
of the casting required, from which the moulder obtains an 
impression in sand or other plastic substance. This im- 
pression obtained, it remains to fill the space, previously 
occupied by the pattern, with molten metal, which when 
solidified is a true representation in metal of the jmttern 
supplied, less the shrinkage. Patterns are sometimes called 
models, from the fact that the modeller furnishes patterns 
for both the brass and iron foundries made from plaster or 
stucco. Wood patterns made by the pattern-maker are by 
far the most numerous, including as they must patterns 
for nearly every cast piece used in producing the multi- 
tudinous examples of structural, machine, and engine work. 
Very much of moulding is now accomplished without a full 
pattern, when a good understanding is maintained between 
the moulder and the pattern-maker. By a judicious 
arrangement of strickles, making-up pieces, and sweeps, 
castings are very often made almost exclusive of a pattern 
altogether; but this only occurs when the ability of both 
artisans is above the average. Machines for moulding gears 
have reduced pattern-making for wheels to a fraction of 
what it formerly was, and numerous other castings may, by 
the aid of a segment and perhaps some core-boxes, be made 
by them as readily. Besides patterns in iron and brass, 
numerous others are the production of the modeller, made 



Pattern Varnisii. 297 Peat. 

in stucco or plaster, and not a few are, with the aid of 
template and sweeps, made in loam by the monlder him- 
self. See Loam-patterns; Backing-out; Spindle. 

Pattern Varnish. — Usually wood patterns are made 
from white straight-grained pine, which, while it is an 
excellent material for working and keeping its shape, is 
very soft and porous. If such patterns are moulded from 
without any subsequent treatment, the pores soon fill with 
sand-dust, which adheres firmly to the moulding-sand and 
leaves a scarred surface on the mould. To prevent this 
the patterns should receive a good coat of varnish made 
from one pound of shellac digested in one gallon of alcohol 
with as much lamp-black as will color it. After this has 
thoroughly dried, rub off with fine sand-joaper and apply 
another coat of the varnish slightly diluted with alcohol. 
See Varnish. 

Pea-ore. — A form of compact brown iron ore, consist- 
ing of round, smooth grains varying in size from a mustard- 
seed to a pea. See Ores. 

Pease-meal. — Cheap grades of this valuable food 
finds its way into the foundry, where it is used as a substi- 
tute for flour. See Flour. 

Peat is one of the most important productions of 
alluvial ground, composing the soil of swamps, and con- 
sisting of the twigs, leaves, and roots of trees mixed with 
grass, plants, weeds, earth, etc., that have long lain in 
water, and thereby become decomposed into a blackish- 
brown mass that may be cut with the spade and dried for 
fuel. The better qualities contain about 40 per cent of 
carbon. In Ireland it is known as turf, where it is dug 
up, dried, and used for fuel. See Fuel. 



Peck. 298 Petroleum. 

Peck. — A dry measure of capacity, and equivalent to 
two imperial gallons, or 554.548 cubic inches. The fourtli 
part of a bushel. 

Peening". — The term applied to straightening crooked 
castings by hammering the concave side immediately oppo- 
site to the block or anvil upon which the convex side is 
resting. A spherical hammer-head is the best ordinarily 
for this pur})ose, and the blows should be regulated so that 
the concave side may be sufficiently expanded with the 
minimum amount of hammering, always commencing at 
the centre of the bend and working out gradually in every 
direction. The hammer used for tliis purpose is termed 
the " peening " hammer. See Straightening Castings. 

Pegging-raniiiier is sometimes termed the peening- 
rammer, and consists of an oblong piece of cast or wrought 
iron of different lengths and widths, and varying from one 
quarter to one inch in tliickness, secured to the end of 
a piece of tubing or bar iron, Avith which to force or "ram" 
the soft open sand of the last filling firmly down upon the 
preceding course. See Butt-rammer; Ramming. 

Percentage of Fuel Used for Melting Cast 
Iron in the Cupola.— See Ratio of Fuel to Iron. 

Petroleum. — Previous to the discovery of the value 
of petroleum as an illuminating agent, the 07ily artificial 
light for domestic and other similar uses was the tallow-can- 
dle and dirty oil-lamp; but when whale and other animal 
oils became too costly, resort was had to natural tar and 
bituminous slate in order to obtain illuminating-oils, and 
lamp -oils were for a long time prepai-ed from wood, resin, 
and other substances. The manufacture of coal-oil was 
introduced into this country about 1853, being confined to 



Petroleum. 299 Petroleum. 

districts where bituminous coal could be mined at a cheap 
rate. 

When the value of coal-oil had become recognized, rock- 
oil or petroleum began to claim attention as a ready means 
of supplying these oils cheaply, as it was found to be analo- 
gous in its properties to that distilled from soft coal. It is 
probable that the petroleum now found in the earth is the 
product of original decomposition, and of subsequent dis- 
tillation. Petroleum is, however, rarely found in contact 
with bituminous strata of any kind, being usually found 
in fissures of sand rocks, which fissures serve two purposes — 
one, to give space for the formation and expansion of the 
hydrocarbon vapor; the other, to furnish receptacles for 
the condensed oils. To obtain this oil, one of these fissures 
must be pierced by a well, when in some instances the oil 
is forced with such velocity as to produce a jet one hun- 
dred feet high. This oil is found in great quantities on 
the shores of the Caspian Sea; at Burmah, in the East In- 
dies; and in Pennsylvania, Canada, and many other parts of 
the American continent. Fine specimens of naphtha are 
found in several parts of Italy. The purer kinds of rock- 
oil, which are almost colorless and very thin, are Naphtha, 
while the more viscid and darker liquids are Petroleum. 
The variations of color and consistence in rock-oils is ow- 
ing to the pitchy and fatty substances being more dissolved 
in those oils that are most fluid. The word petroleum 
(rock-oil) is used to designate the forms of bitumen that 
are of an oily consistence, the bitumen passing by insensi- 
ble gradations into the volatile naphtha on the one hand, 
and serai-fluid mineral tars on the other. Among its distil- 
lates are carbon-oil, paraffine, naphtha, gasoline, and ben- 
zine. Besides its use for illuminating purposes, it is now 
recognized as a fuel on both steamships and locomotives,, 
as well as for ordinary domestic and manufacturing pur- 
poses. The products of petroleum that have proved moat 



Petroleum-furnace. 300 l*liosplior-t)ronz6. 

valuable in medicine are the filtered -paraffine residues, as 
cosmoline, vaseline, etc., widely used, plain and medicated, 
as ointments. See Bitumen". 

Petroleum-furnace. — A furnace in which petro- 
leum alone, or mixed with air or steam, is used exclusively 
for fuel. See Liquid Fuel; Petkoleum. 

Pewter. — A useful alloy of tin and lead. The com- 
mon or ley-pewter is 4 tin and 1 lead; plate-pewter, 100 
tin, 8 antimony, and 3 each of bismuth and copper ; trifle- 
pewter, 83 tin and 17 antimony. The best pewter is com- 
posed of 100 parts tin and 17 antimony. A very hard 
pewter is 192 tin, 16 antimony, and 4 copper. Tin-and- 
temper pewter is the best, and is made as follows: Let a 
** temper " be made from 2 parts tin and 1 part copper, and 
to every pig of tin weighing about 375 pounds add from 
1 to 7 pounds of the temper. See Pewterer's Temper; 
Tin; Antimony. 

Pewterer's Solders. — These are of three kinds: the 
hard and soft pale, and the middling. Hard pale is made 
from 2 tin and 1 lead ; for the soft pale an addition of 1 
bismuth is made; and for the middling pale an equal mixt- 
ure of both. See Soldering; Solders. 

Pewterer's Temper.— Tin 2 and copper 1, fused 
together, make the alloy above named. This temper, 
mixed in certain proportions with pig tin, produces the 
pewter named " tin-and-temper." See Pewter ; Tin. 

Phosphor-bronze. — This bronze, according to the 
purposes for which it is intended, contains from 3 to 15 
parts tin to 100 copper, with an addition of from i to 2 J 
per cent of phosphorus. This alloy can be remelted any 
number of times without altering its quality, which is as 



Phosphor-copper. 301 Phosphor-copper. 

fine as cast steel, and may be made as hard as that metal 
or as tongli as wrought iron ; in fact, it can be made to 
any degree of hardness, toughness, or elasticity. 

It is somewhat difficult to introduce the phosphorus into 
the crucible, and very much of it is lost in the operation, 
for which allowance must be made. The action of phos- 
phorus on bronze alloy is to drive out the oxides, and cause 
the tin to adopt a crystalline structure, which gives the 
alloy a higher degree of homogeueousness than in com- 
mon bronze. Another important feature is that any de- 
gree of hardness may be obtained by increasing the quan- 
tity of phosphorus, exclusive of any further addition of 
tin, the latter metal being sure to separate when used in 
too large proportions. The more advanced method of in- 
troducing the phosphorus is by adding phosphor copper, 
or phosphor tin, specially prepared for the purpose. See 
Phosphor-copper; Phosphor-tik: Bronze; Copper. 

Phosphor-copper is made by lining a crucible 
with a mixture composed of bone-ash, 18, silica 14, and 
powdered carbon 4, which is made into a daubing or lining 
by adding glue-water containing 4 parts each of powdered 
glass and carbonate of soda. Granulated copper is charged 
after the lining has been thoroughly dried, and covered 
witii some of the lining mixture ; after which the lid is 
luted on and the copper melted, when it will be found to 
contain about 0.52 per cent of phosphorus. The silicic 
acid acts on the phosphate, the phosphoric acid is reduced, 
and taken up as freed by the copper. 

Another phosphor copper, containing about 9 per cent 
of phosphorus, can be produced by first making a phos- 
phorous mass by mixing superphosphate of lime with 20 
per cent of charcoal and dehydrating the mixture at a dull- 
red heat. Six hundred parts of this mass are mixed with 
975 of copper turnings and 75 of charcoal, and kept at 



Phosphor tin. 302 Phosphorus. 

copper-fusion heat for sixteen hours in a graphite crucible. 
The phosphor copper is obtained in the form of detached 
granules, which are picked out, re-fused, and cast into 
cast-iron ingot-moulds. The introduction of phosphorus 
into the metal is better effected by means of these rich 
phosphor coppers than by any of the methods adopted for 
pushing it under the metal in a crude state. See P.HOS- 

PHOR-BRONZE. 

Pliosplior-tin is a phosphide of tin used as a medium 
for introducing phosphorus into bronze alloys, and some- 
times used in conjunction with phosphor-copper for that 
purpose. It is made by heating 6 parts of phosphorus with 
94 parts of moist tin-sponge prepared from the chloride by 
reduction with zinc. The sticks of phosphorus are first 
placed in the crucible and the tin sponge pressed hard 
down. A gentle heat is sufficient for this operation, which 
ends when the burning phosphorus ceases to give fortn 
ilame, and a coarse, white, crystalline substance has formed, 
which is the phosphor-tin. See Phosphor-brokze. 

Phosphorus is one of the non-metallic elements, and 
is found in nature only in combination — chiefly as the 
phosphate of lime. It would appear that plants require it, 
as more or less is found concentrated in their seeds. 1'he 
bodies of animals contain it in a lai-ge degree, being present 
in the nervous tissues, the urine, the blood, the hair, and 
in the bones, which contain a large proportion of the phos- 
phate of lime. The earthy phosphates are important, as 
they aid in giving stiffness and inflexibility to the bony 
skeleton. Phosphorus was discovered in urine by Brandt 
of Hamburg, 1669. It is chiefly made from bones ; when 
pure it appears like bleached wax, and is soft and flexible 
at common temperatures, melts at 44° and boils at 289°. 
Phosphorus, in its combining relation^ is more closely con- 



Piano-plates. SOS Picker. 

nected with the metals arsenic and antimony than with 
any of the members of the sulphur group, in which it is 
commonly placed. See Arsenic; Antimony; Phosphor- 
bronze. 

Piano-plates. — The importance of that portion of a 
piano called the iron frame or "Opiate" possessing in the 
highest degree all tlie qualities requisite for a perfect cast- 
ing may be better understood when it is known that in 
pianos of the largest size the sum of the tension of the 
strings, when stretched in attuning, reaches 33 tons. It is 
therefore natural to suppose that skill of the highest order 
is brought to bear on their production. The minor manu- 
facturers usually contract with some foundry for their sup- 
ply of plates, but in most cases the restrictions as to weight 
and finish are so severe that even ordinary profits are never 
looked for by the founder. Leading firms have them made 
in their own foundries, where special mixtures of iron, 
which have been previously determined and tested, are 
melted down at once, and poured into as many as seventy 
moulds simultaneously, in order that all may be alike. The 
chief feature in moulding these castings is the ramming. 
See Eamming. 

Picker. — There are various devices for picking out 
small patterns from the sand, including screws, spikes and 
spring-lifters, etc., all of which are designated by the gen- 
eral name of picker The best picker for very small bench- 
work patterns that are made of wood and do not require 
duplicating is a fine-pointed steel wire. But if a large 
number require to be made from one pattern, have a small 
hole bored well in, or through if the pattern is thin, and 
use the spring-lifter. A metal plate inserted neatly at the 
orifice of the hole will prolong the usefulness of the pattei-n 
indefinitely. See Screw ; Spike; Spring-lifter. 



Pick-hammer. 304 Pig-iron. 

Pick-hanimer. — A steel hammer with tempered 
points, for use in discovering scoria and other dirt which 
may be lodged under the thin skin of castings. 

Pickle. — A pickle for removing sand from castings by 
sprinkling is made from sulphuric acid 1 and water 4. 
The castings are sprinkled and exposed to the atmosphere 
when this is used; but if it is desired to make a bath in 
which to submerge the castings, then 10 of water may be 
added to 1 of the acid. 

For cleansing brass castings the pickle should be made 
from nitric acid 1 and water 3. 

The vessel in whicli the sulphuric-acid pickle is to remain 
should be lined with sheet lead; that for the nitric-acid bath 
sliould be of earthenware or glass. 

Cast-iron work should receive considerable attention after 
pickling, if it is intended to plate or japan them. The 
gray accumulation seen on the surface after this process 
will, if left thereon, be sure to fall off in time, bringing 
with it whatever has been subsequently applied. Simple 
water is not sufficient to accomplish a thorough cleansing 
from this objectionable film; the castings should be first 
steeped in a strong hot potash or soda bath, after which hot 
water or steam may be played over them until they are 
thoroughly clean, when after being heat-dried they are 
ready for the plating, japanning, or paint. See Plating ; 
Dipping; Lacquering. 

Pig-iron. — Iron in the form of an oblong bar, so 
called from having been run from a central or main 
channel designated the sow, which connects with the tap- 
hole of the blast-furnace, and may be directed to any part 
of the sand floor of the casting-house, the pigs being 
branches from the same. According to the fracture, pig 



Pig-iron Barrow. 305 Pig-iron Tester. 

iron is classified as (jraiff mottled, and icliite iron. See 
Oast-iron; Grades of Pig-iron. 

Pig-iron Barrow. — A vehicle for htiuling pig iron, 
nsually made high in the front to prevent the pigs from 
slipping forward on the wheel, and witli a flat tray for ease 
in loading and unloading. Barrows for this purpose and 
for the transfer of heavy castings are now made by special- 
ists having the front, and tray made from bent-iron strips 
set edgewise and securely fastened together, which presents 
a platform firm and almost indestructible. These barrows 
can be furnished by the dealers with either one or two 
wheels attached. 

Pig-iron Breaker. — The common form of breaker 
for pig-iron is a heavy sledge-liammer. Many forms of 
power breakers are employed at the blast-furnaces which 
might with considerable profit be introduced in the foun- 
dries, where a large quantity of pig iron must be broken 
for convenience in charging the cupola. 

Pig-iron Scales. — The best form of scale, where 
large quantities of different brands of pig iron must be 
handled proportionatel}^, is one of sufficient capacity to 
weigh a whole charge at once. This scale would require a 
section of railway corresponding to the system throughout 
the yard and to the furnaces; the pig-iron truck can be run 
on the scales, and the several quantities constituting a 
charge could be placed thereon, and be at once conveyed in 
bulk up an inclined plane to the cupola scaffold or on the 
level to the elevator platform. 

Pig-iron Tester is a simple form of machine for 
ascertaining the transverse strength of cast iron, some 
having an indicator attached by which the elastic limit is 



Piling. 306 Pin and Cottar, 

measured also. This is an excellent contiivance for obtain- 
ing a comparative test of the h'on supplied subsequent to 
charging in the cupola by simply melting a small quantity 
in the crucible and casting one or more 1-inch-square bars, 
tlie strength of wliich may be discovered by the machine. 
Density, tendency to chill, and shrinkage may also be 
observed in the cast bars, and thus by these mechanical 
means a fair knowledge of the iron may be obtained before 
taking risks in the cupola. See Testing-machine. 

Piling. — Puddled balls, after being shingled, are 
called blooms, which after passing through the puddle-bar 
rolls are called pnddle-har. For the best iron these bars 
are cut into short lengths and made into j;i7e-?, to be reheated 
and again passed through the forge-rolls, after which the 
iron is again cut, piled, and heated, and then passed through 
the mill-train, the finishing-rolls being the last rolls in the 
train. For beams, rails, etc., the piling is arranged to suit 
the form required, the pile consisting of different grades 
of iron, according to the desired quality of the finished 
product. See Malleable Iron. 

Pin. — A common name in the foundry for a gate-pin, 
also a flask-pin. See Gate-pin 3 Snug. 

Pin and Cotter. — An arrangement for pinning 
flasks, consisting of a wrought iron or steel pin, with 
forged or turned shoulder, to rest in holes provided in the 
drag, to which it is made fast by a nut which is screwed 
on the small end of the pin. The cotter-hole is forged in 
the pin, so that when the cotter is driven home its upper 
edge touches the upper part of the hole, while the lower 
one rests on the lug or flange of the cope, and clear of the 
hole entirely; thus by this means drawing cope and nowel 
close together and holding them. See Snug, 



Pincers. 307 Pitch. 

Pincers. — An instrument for grasping objects, draw- 
ing nails, etc. Two handles work the jaws, which are held 
in position by a pivot. 

Pincll-bar. — A long bar of steel or iron, fashioned at 
the end, suitable for raising weights or propelling vehicles. 
See Lever. 

Pinchbeck. — An imitation gold, composed of copper 
5, zinc 2. See Gold ; Tombac. 

Pipe-clay. — A clay of a grayish-white color, greasy 
to the touch, very plastic, and free from iron and other 
impurities. Its principal use is for making white pottery 
and tobacco-pipes. See Feldspar; Kaolik; Pottery- 
moulding; ETC. 

Pipe-nioiildiiig. — See Cast-iron Pipes. 

Piston-blowers are machines which force the blast 
with every alternate motion of the piston. See Blower. 

Pit is a general foundry term for all holes dug in tlie 
floor in which to form moulds in green-sand, or close 
together and cast such as are formed in dry sand or loam. 
In the former instance the hole is dug, the pattern inserted, 
and the sand rammed therein, as described at ^^ Bedding 
In " (q.v.), while in the latter it may be required only to 
lower the mould down to a suitable depth for casting (see 
Dry-sand Moulding) ; or, as in the case of a loam-mould, it 
may be necessary both for closing, and binding the walls 
sufficient to resist the pressure of the molten iron within by 
ramming sand firmly in the space betwixt the pit-sides and 
the mould. See Loam-moulding; Curb; Ramming. 

Pitch is the black residue remaining after distilling 
wood-tar. Charcoal is made by covering piles of w^ood to 



Pit-coal. 308 Plaster-cast. 

partially exclude the air; this is fired, and the volatile con- 
stituents of the wood gradually distil off, leaving the char- 
coal. If it is desired to produce tar, the resinous woods 
are employed, and the pit-bottom is made concave. During 
combustion, the liquid pi-oducts are separated, collect at 
the bottom, and flow out through a trough into a reservoir. 
They consist of tar, acetic acid, and oil of turpentine. 
When the tar is distilled, essence of turpentine is separated, 
and what remains is pitch. See Tar. 

Pit-coal. — The name given to mineral coal to distin- 
guish it from charcoal. See Coal. 

Plaster. — Sulphate of lime or plaster of Paris. See 
Gypsum. 

Plaster-cast. — To take a plaster-cast of any figure, 
bust, medal, etc., it is only necessary to obtain a mould by 
pressing some soft substance upon it, which when it has 
hardened maybe filled with plaster; the latter soon hardens, 
and a representation of the original is obtained. The sub- 
stances used for forming such moulds are various: for some 
objects a composition of beeswax, rosin, and pitch may be 
poured round it ; for very small objects, wax alone, or the 
crumbs of new bread, will answer ; but for larger ones it is 
necessary to provide moulds of the plaster itself, or clay 
may be substituted. A cast of a person's face is obtained 
by first securing the hair at the back, inserting paper tubes 
at the nostrils for breathing, and oiling the face, the person 
lying on his back. The thin plaster is then carefully spread 
one-fourth inch thick all over, taken away when set, and 
used for obtaining a clay model, from which to make a 
plaster- mould, which serves as the matrix for the final 
cast, and which must be divided at suitable places for easy 
withdrawal from the face. See Statue-foukdiitg. 



I 



Plaster Match-part. 309 . Platen. 

Plaster Patch-part.— A joint board or match-part 
prepared in plaster. See Match-part. 

Plate. — Foundry plates are of two kinds principally, 
being for the purpose of carrying or covering moulds. 
Those used for carrying are usually plain open-sand plates, 
with handles or lugs made in a form suitable for the lifting 
tackle used; whilst the covering plates have dabbers or 
prickers cast on them for sustaining the loam or sand with 
which they are covered on the mould or face side. See 
Prickers ; Loam-moulding; Open-sand Moulding. 

Plate Brass is cast brass for rolling into sheets, and 
is composed of copper 16, zinc 3. See Brass. 

Plate -mouldings is simply dividing the pattern to 
be moulded exactly at the joint or parting, and placing the 
halves opposite to each other on an iron plate or a board, 
which is provided with pin-holes exactly corresponding to 
the interchangeable flasks to be used. Cope and nowel 
may then be rammed respectively, cope lifted off, plate 
taken away, and the cope again pinned to place. If dis- 
tinct plates are made for each side the operations are 
facilitated somewhat, as all the nowels can be completed at 
once and the copes follow in succession: the advantage in 
the latter method is, that the plate is withdrawn from the 
mould in both cases, while in the former the cope is lifted 
oif the plate -a bad feature when the patterns are not com- 
paratively plain. When more than one pattern are thus 
treated, and all run from one common gate, it is customary 
to call it a card of patterns. See Match-plate. 

Platen, in moulding-machines, is the upper diaphragm 
or plate, against which the flask with its containing sand 
and pattern is forced by pressure from below. See Mould- 
ing-machines. 



iPlates of Metal. 310 Plating 

Plates of Metal.— For weight of a superficial square 
foot of different metals, see Weight of Plates. 

Plate- wheel. — A wheel having the rim and hub con- 
nected by a plate instead of arms. 

Platform. — The scaffold round the cupola, built for 
convenience in charging. If possible, they should always 
be of sufficient area to accommodate the stowing of all the 
iron, fuel, material for repairs, etc., required for one day's 
melting at least, for which reason there should be no mis- 
take made as to the strength of such structures. If there 
be a system of tracks in the yard, an incline from the 
platform will serve to communicate therewith. See PiG- 
iROi^- Scales; Charging-platform. 

Platform-cranes are walking cranes erected on 
trucks which run on rails or road. See Crakes. 

Platform Scale.— A weighing-machine provided 
with a platform on which to place the object to be 
weighed. See Weighing-scales. 

Plating. — The coating of one metal with another. 
This is done in some cases to protect the underlying metal 
from oxidation; in others, that the properties of two 
metals, such as strength and lustre, may be combined in 
one object; but in the majority of cases it is done that 
some inferior metal may appear like a superior one. 
Originally, silver-plate was made by wiring thin plates of 
silver to ingots of German-silver or copper, and submitting 
to a soldering temperature in a plating-furnace to unite 
the two surfaces. The ingot was then rolled down to a 
sheet, in which the relative thickness of the two metals 
was maintained. This method of plating has now become 
almost extinct, being superseded by electro-plating and 



Platinum. 311 Platinum. 

gilding, wliich covers the object with a film by the aid of 
electricity. To coat articles with silver, a bath is made 
of cyanide of silver 1 part, to 2 or 3 parts of cyanide of 
potassium, dissolved in 150 parts of water. The article 
to be plated is made the negative pole, and a piece of 
silver hung in the bath forms the positive pole. Articles 
are gilded by employing a solution of the double cyanide 
of gold and potassium, and suspending plates of gold in 
the solution. A proper coating takes from three to six 
hours, but any thickness may be given by continuing the 
operation. From J to 1 ounce of silver suffices for one 
square foot of plating. Other metals besides copper, silver, 
and gold can be electrically deposited from their solutions, 
as, for instance, the coating of iron with zinc, a solution of 
the sulphate of zinc being employed for that purpose. 
The deposition of nickel from the sulphate of nickel and 
ammonium is deposited as a very thin but extremely hard 
coating by this process, so that innumerable articles may 
be protected from tarnishing and corrosion, as nickel will 
not readily tarnish, even in a very moist atmosphere. See 
Electro-plati:n^g; Nickel-plating; Gilding. 

Platinum is a rare metal, invariably found native, 
and usually associated with palladium, iridium, and rho- 
dium. It occurs also alloyed with gold, copper, iron, and 
lead. Found chiefly in the mines of the Ural Mountains, 
Brazil, and Mexico. Its color is grayish white, almost 
like silver in appearance. It is ductile, takes a good 
polish, and is as malleable as gold or silver. Its most 
useful qualities, however, are the difficulty of fusion and 
its absolute resistance to the action of almost all acids; 
but it may bo slowly dissolved by aqua regia. It will not 
oxidize in air at any temperature. Its specific gravity is 
21.5. Platinum with steel forms an alloy that is exceed- 
ingly hard. See Metals, Aqua Regia ; Platinum Alloys. 



Platinum Alloys. 312 Plumber's Solder. 

Platinum Alloys. — These alloys are almost iion- 
oxidizable, and may be prepared by the usual methods of 
melting, without flux. Nickel 100, tin 10, platinum 1 — 
suitable for table-ware. Nickel 100, tin 20, platinum 1, 
silver 2 — a good mixture for bells. Nickel 100, tin 20, 
platinum 20 — optical and similar instruments. Another 
non-oxidizable alloy of platinum is composed of nickel GO, 
brass 130, platinum 70. Platinum alloys readily with 
steel, and produces a very tough and fine-grained product 
when present to the extent of 1 per cent. See Silver; 
Silver Alloys; Silvering; Nickel. 

Platinum Steel.— See Platinum Alloys. 

Pliers. — A kind of pincers with which to seize, bend, 
break, or cut small objects. 

Plinth. — The square member at the bottom of the base 
of a column. Also, the projecting band forming the base of 
a wall, etc. See Column. 

Plug. — A conical clay bott, or bod, secured to the end 
of the bott-stick, with which to plug the tap-hole of the 
cupola. See Bott-stick. 

Plumbago. — See Black Lead; Graphite; Facing. 

Plvimb-l>ol). — Usually a conically shaped piece of lead 
or iron, suspended on a cord, with which to obtain a perpen- 
dicular to the horizon. See Level. 

Plumber's Solder.— Solder for lead is composed of 
tin 1, lead 1| ; flux with tallow or rosin. For tin: tin 1, 
lead 2; flux with rosin and sweet-oil. A useful solder for 
general purposes is made from lead 5, tin 3, bismuth 1. 
See Soldering ; Solders. 



pneumatic Cranes. 313 tolling. 

Pneuniatic Cranes. — Are being extensively used 
because of tbeir convenience, especially for moderate duty. 
The transmission of air under pressure results in none 
of the annoyances from leakage incident to steam and 
liydraulic piping, and obviates all trouble in disposing of 
the exhaust, as this may be allowed to discharge anywhere 
without inconveniencing any one. See Okanes. 

Pneumatic Lifts. — These lifts are now becoming 
common among blast-furnaces in different parts of the 
world, as compressed air is readily obtained from the 
blowing-engines which supply the furnaces. A wrought- 
iron cylinder, with its top end closed, somewhat longer than 
the distance to be travelled is suspended in a tank bj' counter- 
weights, after the manner of a gasometer. Air at three or 
four pounds above the atmospheric pressure is forced into 
the tank through a pipe. The load is lifted to the height 
required, and as the whole of the working parts are balanced, 
the amount of power required is only what will be sufficient 
to elevate the load. The return stroke is obtained by allow- 
ing the air to escape through a valve into the atmosphere, 
the empty wagon being weight sufficient to lower the bell 
in the tank. The motive power for the Gjers pneumatic 
lift is obtained from a pair of double-acting air-pumps, the 
lift being effected by the pressure of the atmosphere acting 
against a vacuum in a cylinder, the empty wagon being 
returned by the compression of air on the under side of the 
piston. See Elevator. 

Pocket. — The temporary extension of a flask in one or 
more direction, to fit it for use on some special casting for 
which it had not been originally designed. 

Polling". — The operation of mixing metal by vigorous 
stirring with a rod of iron or pole of wood. Wood-polling 



!Polisliing Substances. 314 Porcelaiu Moulding. 

is more effective especially when the wood is green, as it 
yields its juices in a gaseous form which causes the metal 
to bubble freely, and the operation is accelerated wonder- 
fully. See Copper. 

Polishing Substances.— The substances used by 
the worker in gems and precious stones are principally 
powdered diamond, sapphire, and ruby; for the several 
operations in the various metals, powdered corundum, 
emery, pumice-stone, flint, tripoli, rottenstone, chalk, oxide 
of tin, oxide of iron, etc., are used by metal-workers. 
For the first operations in glass-polishing, silex sand and 
water are used between the rubber and the glass, after which 
different grades of emery, and finally the putty powders, or 
oxide of tin. See throughout the work for a descriDtion of 
the substances mentioned. 

Porcelain Monlcling. — Not many branches of in- 
dustry are of higher antiquity than that of the potter, as 
the plasticity of natural clays and their hardening when 
exposed to heat are properties which were known in the 
earliest ages. There is a marked difference between true 
porcelain and earthenware, the body of the former ware 
being very compact and translucent, and breaking with a 
conchoidal fracture, which shows there has been partial 
fusion. 

The glaze which is applied to porcelain to produce the 
smooth surface evidently blends with the substance of which 
the body is composed. This cannot be said of earthenware, 
which, when it is broken, shows an open and somewhat 
earthy fracture, and the glaze can be readily detached. 
The clay employed in porcelain-making is derived from de- 
composed feldspar, no other kind being pure enough ; this is 
white, and free from ferric oxide. To diminish the con- 
traction which this substance undergoes in the fire, finely 



i*oroslty. 315 Porosity, 

divided silica made from pulverized flints is added, together 
with a proper proportion of feldspar or other fusible ma- 
terial, also reduced to an impalpable powder. The ware is 
moulded in plaster-of-Paris matrices, or formed by means 
of a vertical spindle and table (potters'-wheel), and is par- 
tially dried in the aii', still more by heat, and then con- 
verted into what is termed biscuit by exposure to a higher 
temperature. This porous biscuit is in a condition favor- 
able for receiving its glaze, which is either ground feldspar, 
or a mixture of silica, gypsum, and some porcelain clay 
diffused through water. After dipping in this mixture the 
water sinks into the ware, leaving an evenly spread surface 
of the powder; after it has again dried it is fired at an ex- 
ceedingly high temperature. 

The manufacture of porcelain outside of China is of 
modern origin, but the Chinese have practised the art from 
the beginning of the seventh century, their work being in 
some respects unequalled. The materials employed by 
them are kaolin, or decomposed feldspar; petuntze, or quartz 
reduced to fine powder; and the ashes of fern, which con- 
tain potassic carbonate. See Pottery-mouldii^g. 

Porosity.— Pores are small interstices between the 
particles of matter which compose bodies, and are either 
empty or filled with some insensible medium. Condensa- 
tion and rarefaction are only performed by opening and 
closing the pores. What shape the atoms of different 
bodies are, we have no means of determining. Pores are 
often visible to the naked eye, as in sponge and pumice- 
stone; but in gold and gi-anite they are too minute to be 
detected. If we place a little water on chalk or cloth it 
disappears; in a certain sense it penetrates them, but it does 
not enter into the solid particles; it only passes into the 
vacant places or pores. A piece of iron is made smaller by 
hammering. This proves its porosity. Its particles could 



Portable J'urnaceS. 316 Portable Furnaces. 

not be brought into closer contact if there were no in- 
terstices between them. Mercury passes through lead, and 
water may be forced through the pores of gold. So that, 
though matter is essentially impenetrable, it is also uni- 
versally porous. See Particle. 

Portable Furnaces. — A French portable brass 
furnace consists of a furnace with a fixed crucible, and 
arranged so that the castings may be poured direct from 
the crucible without removing it from the furnace, the two 
moving simultaneously from the furnace to the moulds, and 
vice versa. The metal may be fused by the use of fuel, the 
ashes of which can be cleaned out of the furnace before 
casting, or the latter annoyance may be obviated by con- 
necting with a regenerative or a gas-blast system. That 
part of the furnace which contains the fixed crucible is 
set in standards provided with bearings for the trunnions 
to rest in, and the standards being secured to a suitable 
truck, the whole is run on the tracks for casting, which 
operation is readily performed by means of a small hoist 
attached to one of the standards, which tilts the furnace 
sufficient to allow the metal to flow from the crucible at its 
upper edge. See Gas-blast Furnace; Brass Furnace. 

A very handy and serviceable portable cupola for melting 
cast iron or other metals may be made and mounted on 
wheels, for use on special occasions, such as mixing for 
tests, or taking off a very light heat occasionally. The 
shell could be of ^V plate, and large enough in diameter to 
measure about 18 inches diameter when lined with 4-inch 
bricks. Its height might be 60 inches, with wind-box 
attached, covering 3 tuyere holes 2J inches diameter, 
pierced about 16 inches from the bottom plate. A small 
fan-blower set back of the cupola could be arranged for 
running either by hand or power. Made in this manner, 
the refuse material contained in the cupola, when done 



Portable Ovens. 317 Potash. 

melting, would have to be drawn out at the front or spout; 
but this might be obviated by suspending the cupola on 
central trunnions, and by tliis means eject the whole con- 
tents at the mouth. The latter method is a great help in 
cleaning and repairing so small a cupola. With efficient 
blast and good management such a cupola should melt lOOU 
pounds per hour. See Cupola. 

Portable Ovens. — Brass and iron moulders' drying 
stoves, or portable ovens, are supplied by the dealers at 
very low prices. They are made in sections, which fit into 
each other, and are excellent contrivances for drying small 
cores. See Ovens. 

Portland Cement. — So called from its near resem- 
blance to Portland stone in color. It not only possesses the 
property of setting more quickly, and has greater power of 
cohesion than the natural cements, but it may be used with 
a superabundance of water in the form of grout, which 
they cannot be. This cement is made from Westmacott's 
patent carbonate in combination with chalk, gray, and all 
other limes. All the carbonic acid being removed from 
the lime in its burning, 75 per cent of this acid is restored 
by its mixture with the prepared patent carbonate. 

Pot. — A common name in foundries for the crucible. 
See Crucible. 

• Potash. — This substance exists in plants, combined 
with other organic acids. The plants being burned de- 
stroys the combination, the organic acids being decomposed 
into carbonic acid and water, and the liberated potash 
unites with some of the carbonic acid formed by the com- 
bustion, thus producing carbonate of potash. This salt is 
highly alkaline, is used to prepare caustic potash, and for 



Potassium. 318 Pot-metal. 

the manufacture of soap, glass, etc. Wood-ashes furnish 
from 20 to 50 per cent of their weight of carbonate of 
potash, being obtained from them by leaching and boiling 
the solution to dryness in iron pots. See Alkali; Ashes. 

Potassivmi. — Potassium was discovered by Sir Hum- 
phry Davy in 1807, together with sodium, barium, stron- 
tium, and calcium. Before this time the alkalies and 
alkaline earths had been considered as simple bodies, and it 
is to him we owe the discovery of their compound nature. 
He obtained it in very small quantity by exposing a piece 
of moistened potassic hydrate to the action of a powerful 
voltaic battery; the positive pole gave off oxygen, and 
metallic globules of pure potassium appeared at the nega- 
tive pole. Potassium is a brilliant white metal with a high 
degree of lustre; at the common temperature of the air it 
is soft, and may be easily cut with a knife, but at 32*^ F. it is 
brittle and crystalline. It melts completely at 130° F. and 
distils at a low-red heat. It floats on water, its specific 
gravity being only 0.865. It oxidizes instantly in the air; 
takes fire if thrown upon water. Potassium decomposes 
nearly all compounds containing oxygen if brought in 
contact with them at high temperatures; hence to preserve 
it pure it is kept under naphtha, a liquid containing no 
oxygen. See Metals; Alloys. 

Potato-flvix. — If a raw potato is fastened on the end 
of a bar and thrust into a ladle of cast iron and held there, 
the escaping steam will cause a violent ebullition, which 
thoroughly mixes and cleanses the mass. The dirt rises to 
the surface, and may be removed with the skimmer. See 
Polling. 

Pot-metal. — An alloy of lead and copper, and called 
pot-metal wheii the alloy consists of these two metals only, 



Pottery moulding. 319 Pottery moulding. 

exclusive of any otlier. The object in making pot-metal is 
to use as much lead as possible, and thus obtain a cheap 
compound for use on the commonest class of work, such as 
beer-taps, etc. A mixture of copper IG, lead 2 makes 
a ductile alloy of a red color. When the mixture consists 
of copper 16, lead 4, its redness and ductility are very per- 
ceptibly decreased. Copper 16 and lead 6 is the real 
pot-metal, and is commonly termed "dry pot-metal,^^ or 
cock alloy. Beyond this proportion of lead there is danger 
of the lead separating from the alloy as it cools; but by 
careful manipulation it is possible to make a compound of 
copper 16 and lead 8, which is termed "wet pot-metal." 
The addition of a small proportion of tin to wet pot-metal 
will prevent the lead from separating, as tin may be mixed 
in almost any proportion with the alloy; and if the mixture 
consist of copper 16, lead 7, antimony 1, the same effect is 
obtained; but it is no longer the true pot-metal when these 
additions have been made. See Copper; Lead; Anti- 
mony; Tin. 

Pottery-moulding'. — Pottery is a term applied to 
all objects made in clay and baked. The potter's art has 
been practised by even semi-barbarous races from the 
remotest period. Vases of baked earthenware were in use 
at the earliest period of Egyptian civilization, and Babylon 
and Assyria were noted for their pottery, which was of a red 
color and more refined shape than that of the Egyptians. 
The Greeks claimed the invention of the potter's-wheel. 
Etruscan ware, famous for the bas-relief ornaments 
moulded — evidently from metal ores on its surface, Avas in 
use 500 years B.C., and was the source of Eoman pottery. 
The existence of unglazed earthenware in Korth America 
dates from remote times. This ware is of the rudest kind, 
and bears a striking resemblance to the earliest specimens 
of Korthern Europe. Mexico and Peru were excellent 



Pottery-moulding, 320 Pottery-moulding. . 

workers in pottery iu tlie earlier ages, to which the mould- 
ing, coloring, and ornamentation of preserved specimens 
bear ample evidence; but they never acquired the art of 
glazing. The knowledge of glazes was first acquired by 
the Egyptians and Assyrians, and descended from them 
to the Persians, Moors, and Arabs, the latter race intro- 
ducing into Spain the art of making glazed tile about 
711 A.J). The first appearance of Italian enamelled faience, 
the precursor of modern porcelain, dates about 1420, 
being then used by Lucca della Kobbia for subjects in 
relief. A century later the works of Raphael were copied 
on plates and other ware, and painted in brilliant colors. 
Enamelled ware passed into France in 1590 with Catherine 
de Medici. The celebrated Palissy discovered at Saintes, 
1555, the art of enamelling a gray paste, from which he 
moulded fruit, animals, etc., for decorating dishes. Glazed 
earthenware delft was first made at Delft about 1360; 
but none of these wares was equal to the Chinese porce- 
lain, which, brought to Europe by the Arabs in the 
thirteenth century, became known in Italy 1330, in France 
1370, and later in England. Wedgwood, the great 
English potter, was born at Burslem in Staffordshire 
1730. 

Pottery and porcelain differ chiefly in this, that the 
superior quality of the materials used for making the 
latter gives it the peculiar quality of ti-anslucency it 
possesses. (See Porcelain.) Inferior materials used for 
making pottery, include phosphate of lime, bone-ashes, 
calcined flint, etc., which are added to the native clays. 
Besides tlie common methods of moulding by the wheel and 
forming with the hand, improved moulding machinery has 
been introduced, which facilitates operations to a great 
extent. Large numbers of articles are made in plaster- 
moulds, which being porous rapidly absorbs the moisture 
from the creamy clay with which they are filled; a stopper 



Pound. 321 Precious Metals. 

at the bottom of the mould is withdrawn when it is known 
that a sufficient thickness of the paste has adhered to the 
mould, and the superfluous paste runs out. If it is found 
that the article thus produced is not thick enough the 
operation is repeated. Another method of obtaining the 
desired form from plaster-moulds is to roll the clay into 
thin sheets and press it upon the surface with a sponge. 
See PoECELAiif. 

Pound. — The pound is a standard weight, and consists 
of 16 ounces avoirdupois, or 12 ounces Troy. The avoirdu- 
pois pound weighs 7000 Troy grains, and the Troy pound 
5760 grains. 

Pouring-basin. — A reservoir formed in sand to 
receive the molten metal from the ladle, from whence 
it passes to the mould by whatever system of running- 
gates is suitable. See Basin; Gates; etc. 

Power-hammer is a hammering machine operated 
by steam, air, or some other mechanical contrivance. See 
Hammeb. 

Prairie Hay. — This hay is now obtained in large 
quantities and spun into ropes suitable for wrapping on core- 
barrels. Spools of this ready-made rope containing from 
300 to 350 feet may be purchased from any of the dealers 
in foundry supplies at a very low price. See Hay-rope ; 
Core-barrel. 

Precious Metals. — Gold and silver are denominated 
precious metals because their peculiar properties pre- 
eminently fit them for becoming standards of value. Even 
barbarians are cognizant of their superiority over all other 
metals. They have a brilliant lustre, are hard, and of 



Precious Stones. 322 Pressing Fluid Steel. 

high specific gravity, Bot subject to oxidization, fusible, 
malleable — the two latter properties permitting them to 
be cast or stamped with designs ; and, besides all these 
superior qualities, they are found pure. See Gold; 
Silver. 

Precious Stones. — The hardness of precious stones, 
beginning with the hardest, is as follows: 1. Diamond; 
2. Ruby; 3. Sapphire; 4. Topaz; 5. Hyacinth; 6. Emerald; 
7. Garnet; 8. Amethyst; 9. Agate; 10. Turquoise; 11. Opal. 

Preciiiitation. — When a body dissolved in a fluid, 
either through the action of the air, or of a gas, or of a 
chemical agent in solution, is made to separate and fall 
down in the concrete state, this falling down is called 
precipitation, and the matter thus separated is called a 
jn-ecipitate. See Solubility. 

Pressed Fuel.— Many loose substances which other- 
wise would be wasted are mixed with cements composed of 
either coal-tar, cow-dung, pitch, clay, or other combina- 
tions, to bind them together, after which they are subjected 
to pressure, and solid fuel is produced from the mass in the 
form of bricks or balls. Pulverized coal is treated in this 
way. 

Pressing Fluid Steel.— The invention of Sir 
Joseph Whitworth for the production of sound steel ingots 
consists in applying pressure, by powerful hydraulic ma- 
chinery, while the metal is solidifying in the ingot. As 
from 6 to 20 tons per square inch is the amount of 
pressure required to produce a sound ingot in this manner, 
the moulds employed are of special construction. The 
main cylinder is strengthened by steel bands on the out- 
side, and the inside or iron lining is composed of cast-iron 



Pressure-blower. 323 Pressure moulding". 

lagging, which receives a coat of very refractory loam. 
This system of lagging permits the gases to escape freely, 
as they are forced out by the enormous pressure exerted. 
See Ingot. 

Pressure-blower. — A blowing-engine that gives a 
positive blast, and measures and forces forward at each 
revolution a fixed quantity of air, whetlier the pressure be 
high or low, or the speed fast or slow. See Blower. 

Pressure-forging. — Usually a substitution of hy- 
draulic or other machinery for the regular processes of 
hammering and rolling metals into the requii-ed form. 

Pressure-g'auge. — A pressure-gauge for showing the 
amount of pressure in the wind-box and pipes of the 
cupola consists of a glass siphon tube, with equal legs, half 
filled with mercury; one end is cemented into a pipe which 
enters the wind-box, the other is open to tlie atmosphere. 
If a stop-cock is provided, it may be shut off at pleasure. 
The wind acting on the mercury in one leg of the gauge 
presses it down, and it rises correspondingly in the other 
leg. The difference between the two columns is the height 
of mercury which corresponds to the excess of the pressure 
in the wind-box above the pressure of the atmosphere. 
If eight ounces per inch be allowed for the length of this 
column, the effective pressure of the blast in ounces per 
square inch is obtained. Therefore all that is necessary 
for graduating the tube is to mark it off in one-eighth-inch 
divisions, and each division would represent one ounce of 
pressure. See Blast-gauge. 

Pressure-moulding. — The several moulding-ma- 
chines which operate by forcing the sand into the flask 
betwixt the table and platen may be taken as examples of 
pressure-moulding, effecting by machine pressure what 



Pressure of Blast. 324 Prickers on Plates, 

has hithej-to been accomplished by hand-ramming. See 

MoULDING-MACniNES. 

Pressure of Blast. — See Blast-pressure. 

Pressure of Molten Metal. — The conditions of 
liquid pressure exist in moulds exactly the same as in any 
other vessel in which liquids may be placed. Solids trans- 
mit pressure only in the line in which it is exerted; liquids 
transmit it in every direction — as may be noticed when in 
casting the poured metal escapes at every riser, at equal 
velocities. Molten metal influenced by gravity alone 
presses in all directions, as will be seen by the following: 
Let a covered mould be filled with molten metal, and main- 
tain a pressure by a raised runner-basin; if this mould be 
tapped at the bottom the metal will rush out, — this proves 
a downward pi-essure; if it be tapped on the side, the metal 
rushes out, showing a lateral j^ressure; and if it be tapped 
on the top, the metal will escape also, showing an upward 
pressure. The pressure of molten metal in every direction 
is proportioned to the depth; hence the necessity of in- 
creasing the strength of moulds towards their bases, and 
additional precautions being taken to hold down the cope 
when large areas are subjected to a considerable head- 
pressure. See^VEiGHTiKG Copes; Hydraulics; Hydro- 
static Bellows. 

Pricker. — A moulder's tool with which to pierce the 
sand to permit the escape of steam and gas. See Vent- 
wire; Ventij^g. 

Prickers on Plates. — These are frequently called 
dahhers or prods by moulders. If the plate to be used for 
covering a loam-mould is only to form a plain surface, the 
prickers need only be long enough to carry as much sand 
as will prevent the heat from damaging the plate when the 



Prince Rupert's Gold, 325 Printing. 

mould is cast. In the event of projections of loam or sand 
having to be sustained safely, the prickers are made long 
enough to reach such projections. The method of forming 
prickers is by thrusting a pricker-pattern into the sand to 
the required depth, after the outer edges of the plate have 
been formed, the bed having been previously prepared to 
the required density to receive it. See Loam-mouldhstg ; 
Plate; Ooveein^g-plate. 

Prince Rupert's G-old. — A kind of pinchbeck; 
copper 3, zinc 1. See Gold; Tombac. 

Prince's-nietal. — An alloy for cheap jewelry; cop- 
per 18, zinc 7. See Gold; Tombac. 

Print. — A boss or hub on a pattern indicating the 
place for a core of that shape and dimension. See Core- 
print. 

Printing. — Printing mould surfaces is a process re- 
quiring more than ordinary judgment and dexterity on the 
part of the moulder to do it well. It is usually practised 
in foundries that make a specialty of fine register and 
stove-plate work, where the patterns are very thin, with 
more or less decorative work on their front surfaces. Any 
attempt to fasten the blacking on these surfaces success- 
fully with the brush or tools is next to impossible, and it is 
certain that returning the pattern for that purpose is not 
only productive of better work, but more expeditious also. 
A heavy lead or charcoal that adheres well to the sand is 
first dusted over the surface and the dust allowed to sub- 
side. In the mean time the moulder has brushed his pat- 
tern, and perhaps warmed it a little ; a dusting of lighter 
blacking is applied, and the pattern returned, rapped down, 
and withdrawn, leaving a thin coat of carbon evenly dis- 



Prods. B36 Puddled Steel. 

tributed on every part, and having no other blemishes than 
are contained in the pattern. See Eeturh-facij^g. 

Prods. — A common name in some parts for the prick- 
ers on a loam-phite. See Pkickers. 

Projectiles are sncli bodies as, being put in a violent 
motion by any great force, are then cast off or let go from 
the place where they received their quantity of motion; as 
a shell or shot from a gun. There are various descriptions 
of projectiles, spherical aud elongated, some being solid, 
others hollow ; also case-shot, etc. See Shot ; Shell ; 

ORDI^^AKCE. 

Proi>eller. — An instrument placed at the back part 
of a steam-vessel for the purpose of propelliug her through 
the water. See Screw-propeller. 

Puddled Steel, or Semi-steel, is produced by the 
decarburization of cast iron in the puddling- furnace. 
Krupp, of Germany, makes the bulk of his steel by this 
process, using irons rich in manganese and carbon, which 
are suited for conversion into steel. The puddling process 
for steel is very like that for malleable iron, except that 
the former is conducted at a lower temperature aud n&eds 
more careful manipulation. There is no previous refine- 
ment of the iron to be operated upon when steel is pro- 
duced by puddling. About 400 pounds are first melted, 
mixed with silicate of iron (slag), and kept stirred with a 
rabble. During this operation the carbon contained in the 
iron is oxidized by the oxygen present in the cinder, pro- 
ducing carbonic oxide, which as it escapes causes the ap- 
pearance of boiling. When this boiling is general through 
the mass, the temperature is increased until the appearance 
of incipient solidification occurs; the temperature is then 



Puddle-rolls. ^^^'^ Pumice stone. 

reduced, and the ordinary process of balling proceeded 
with. The work in this case demands more than or- 
dinary skill. This steel, after being made into bars, is cut 
up and remelted in crucibles, in order to produce cast steel. 
See Malleable luo^; Crucible Steel. 

Puddle-rolls are the pair of rolls on the left of the 
train, usually called the roughing-roUs. See Malleable 
Iron ; Kolls ; Train". 

Puddling. — See Malleable Iron. 

Puddling-furnace. — A furnace for separating the 
carbon and other impurities from cast iron. This furnace 
is usually of the reverberatory kind, and in the process the 
fire is not mingled with the metal, as in the case of smelt- 
ing, the material being melted by causing the flame to im- 
pinge upon it on its way from the fireplace at one end to 
the chimney at the other. See Malleable Iron ; Rever- 
beratory Furnace. 

Pug-mill. — A mill used by potters and brickmakers 
to cut up and blend the clay. Pug-mills are of various 
designs, and some of them are capable of performing several 
operations successively, as cutting the clay, grinding and 
tempering it, and finally ejecting a limited quantity into 
the moulds below. 

Pulverized Coal. — See Pressed Fuel. 

Pulverizer. — See Sand-pulverizer; Rock-crusher. 

Pumice ■ stone. — A spongy lava of a very porous 
nature, and so light that it will float on water. It is found 
in volcanic districts, being composed chiefly of silica and 



Pure Iron. 328 Quarter-turn Pipe, 

alumina, with some potash and soda. See PoLiSHii^G SuB- 

STAN'CES. 

Pure Iron is of very rare occurrence, and can be ob- 
tained only by purely chemical methods in the laboratory. 
See Kative Iron". 

Putty is whiting and linseed-oil kneaded into a thick 
paste. See Whiting. 

Putty-powder.— The peroxide of tin, made by skim- 
ming the oxidized surface from melting tin, which when 
cold is reduced to a fine white powder. The particles be- 
ing very hard, it is used as a polishing material, and also as 
a coloring for enamels and glass. See Polishing Sub- 
stances. 

Pyrites.— A native compound of metal with sulphur. 
See Sulphur. 

Pyrometer. — An instrument for measuring tempera- 
tures beyond the ability of mercury to indicate. The older 
instruments of this class, such as the Wedgwood, Daniell's, 
etc., have been superseded by others based on the expansion 
of gases or on the electrical properties of bodies. 

Q. 

Quadrant is the fourth part of the circumference of 
a circle ; an arc of 90 degrees. 

Quart.— The fourth part of a gallon. Two pints make 
one quart. 

Quarter-turn Pipe.— A curved section of piping, 
the ends of which finish at an angle of 90°. 



Quartz. 320 Quicklime. 

Quartz. — The purest condition of silicon is that of 
quartz, in which it forms hexagonal crystals terminated by 
six-sided summits. It is a very abundant and widely dif- 
fused mineral. Quartz rock is mainly composed of it, and 
it is in this substance that gold is more frequently found 
than in any other. Quartz is the principal constituent 
of nearly all granites^ as well as the numerous sand- 
stones, limestones, trap-rocks, etc. Sands of both desert 
and sea-shore, and the common flint, are chiefly composed of 
it ; and many stones, as the agate, amethyst, carnelian, 
chalcedony, jasper, rock-crystal, etc., are simply varieties 
of quartz. It is thouglit that a great deal of the silica 
which exists in nature has been originally deposited in the 
soluble condition. The structure of the chalcedony, etc., 
proves that they were formed by a solution of silica having 
penetrated into a cavity in the surrounding rock and there 
crystallized. See throughout this work for a description 
of the substances mentioned. 

Quartzite. — A sedimentary sandstone which by meta- 
morphic action has been converted into a hard rock possess- 
ing a highly refractory nature, for which reason it was 
formerly employed for constructing blast-furnace hearths, 
etc. See Sand-stoi^e. 

Queen's Metal. — For teapots, spoons, etc. Tin 100, 
bismuth 1, antimony 8, copper 4; or, tin 9, bismuth I, an- 
timony 1, lead 1. See White Metals; Britannia Metal; 
Tombac; German-silyer. 

Quick-dipping Acid. — Sulphuric acid 1 gallon, 
nitric acid, 1 gallon. This is for brass which has been or- 
molued. See Dipping. 

Quicklime. — Limestone or carbonate of lime de- 



Quicksilver. o30 Hamming, 

prived of its carbonic acid. Unslaked lime. See Lime; 
Limestone, etc. 

Qviicksilver. — A name given by the ancients to the 
metal mercury. See Mercury. 



R. 

Racks for Cores. — Brackets projecting from the 
walls of the foundry oven on which to place the cores dur- 
ing the process of drying. There is nothing more detri- 
mental to the business of core-drying than a scarcity of 
suitably arranged racks along the walls of the oven; the 
carriage may also be utilized for this purpose in some in- 
stances. When this is practicable, large numbers of cores 
may be conveniently dried simultaneously with the moulds, 
etc., with which it may be loaded. See Oven; Carriage. 

Rtidius. — The radius of a circle is just half its diam- 
eter; in other words, it is a straight line drawn from the 
centre to the circumference. See Circle. 

Raniining. — The process of ramming moulds is by 
no means a simple operation. Inelegant and laborious as 
it may seem, it is at the ramming stage of the moulder's 
art that the foundation is laid for the successful achieve- 
ment of the task he undertakes; and nothing but sound 
judgment based upon intelligent practice is able to qualify 
the moulder in this particular department of his trade. 
See Butt-rammer; Peen-rammer. 

Much subsequent repairing and finishing of the mould 
may be avoided when strict attention is paid to the neces- 
sity of ramming each portion of the mould in exact accord- 
ance with absolute requirements. For light castings of a 
duplicate character it is essential that the ramming be sys- 



Ramming. 331 Hamming. 

tematized in order that each casting shall be a true copy 
of its fellow in all respects, hut particularly so in reference 
to weight, where due regard must be had to their being as 
light as 2^ossible. This of course can only be accomplished 
by discovering the point where the hardness of the mould 
surface interferes with an uninterrupted flow of the molten 
metal over it. Nearly all classes of light work may be suc- 
cessfully moulded without subsequent venting if due at- 
tention be given to the grading and tempering of the sand 
used, and ramming no harder than is absolutely necessary; 
careful tramping with the feet being all that is requisite in 
countless instances. The ignorant moulder pounds away, 
regardless of the differences consequent on whatever 
changes may be made in the material he works with. Not 
so the intelligent one : he is closely observant of all these 
things, and regulates his ramming accordingly. 

The admirable precision and duplication of similar 
castings produced on the moulding-machines furnish ample 
evidence of the truth of the aforesaid, as the wdiole process 
of moulding by this method consists in placing a measured 
quantity of sand in the flask every time to be operated 
upon by the rammer, which with mechanical precision 
presses it down into the flask and around the pattern 
with an exactness impossible of attainment by hand- 
ramming. It is very evident that whatever superiority 
machine-made castings possess over those made by hand- 
ramming, it must all inevitably result from the more effi- 
cient and exact ramming performed by the machine, as 
the entire operation consists of introducing an exact 
quantity of sand into the flask, bringing on the pressure, 
and withdrawing the pattern, — all of which operations are, 
in the majority of cases, performed automatically. Subse- 
quent treatment of these moulds is limited to the placing 
of cores and closing the parts for casting, no hand-finishing 
whatever being required. See Moulding-machines. 



Ramming, ^32 Ramming. 

The ramming of heavy green-sand work undonbtedly 
calls for very superior ability, as not only must the mould 
face be made of the proper nature and density to resist the 
intense heat of the metal, but every suitable means must 
be employed to resist the constant pressure exerted whilst 
it remains in a fluid state. How to meet all these con- 
ditions and maintain a mould surface that shall be free 
from errors likely to produce faults in the resultant casting 
taxes the moulder severely when the material is not in all 
respects what it should be, and many are the contrivances 
invented to counteract or neutralize evils that are known 
to exist, as well as to provide against possible contingen- 
cies. 

The nature and quality of sands changing with each 
locality renders it almost impossible to formulate absolute 
rules for ramming which shall be equally applicable at all 
places; it remains, therefore, with the intelligent moulder 
to observe well the kinds of sand he must work with, and 
regulate his ramming accordingly, remembering that with 
the finer grades there is always a possibility of ramming 
the mass to a consistency that will effectually prevent the 
escape of gases which form throughout the mould's sur- 
face when the metal enters therein ; especially is this to be 
observed Avhen the sand is of a clayey nature. See Green- 
sand Moulding; Facing-sand; etc. 

Eamming dry-sand moulds is not by any means as im- 
portant as green sand, it only being required in this case 
to pack the sand firmly and evenly to the mould face, and 
of sufficient density elsewhere to permit of free handling 
and resist pressure from within. If the facing-sand be 
comparatively free from gas-producing substances, and the 
moulds are thoroughly dried, there is no necessity what- 
ever for venting ordinary dry-sand moulds, there being no 
steam to lead away, as in the case of green-sand moulds. 
For this reason unskilled labor may, with some direction, 



Ram's-horn. 333 Rapping-plate. 

be employed for ramming very many of the moulds made 
in dry-sand. See Dry-sai^d Moulding; Dry-sand 
Facing; etc. 

Pit ramming is simply the process of packing the space 
between the mould and the pit wall with sand to prevent 
tlie pressure exerted within the mould from forcing out 
the walls; in other words, the pit is made to answer the 
purpose of confining the whole mould, just as a flask 
does. A knowledge of the laws of pressure in moulds is 
very helpful to the moulder in this instance, because, 
knowing that pressure is greatest at the bottom it is at 
that point where the hardest ramming must occur, and 
every course of ramming may be made proportionately 
less dense as the top is reached, and consequently much 
valuable time saved in the operation. See Tramping; 
Pit; Venting; Butt-rammer; Pegging-rammer. 

Raiii's-liorn. — A hook used for passing loads from 
one crane to another. See Double-hook. 

Rapping-bar. — A pointed bar of iron with which to 
jar the pattern in order to make it leave the sand more 
readily. See Loosening-bar. 

Rapping-plate. — An iron plate inserted in a pat- 
tern at such places as it may be desired to effect a jarring 
or loosening of the same. Ordinarily these plates are sunk 
down even with the surface, and fastened with common 
wood screws. For light patterns easy to loosen these 
answer well enough; but in larger ones it becomes neces- 
sary to make the plates strong, with more surface, and 
secure them by bolts to a similar one on the opposite side 
of the pattern. By this means the nuts will always bring 
both plates close to the 2^attern, and thus obvinte the 
unpleasantness which is sure to follow if the common 



Rasp. 334 Ratio of Fuel to Iron 

screw-plates are used. Another advantage the bolted 
plates offer is that the upper plate may have a threaded 
hole in which to insert an iron screw for drawing out the 
pattern. These are often called screw-plates. They are 
much better than driving spikes into the pattern. See 

LOOSENING-BAR. 

Rasp. — The rasp differs from the file in that the teeth 
protrude separately, thus making a surface much more 
suitable for filing cores than does the chisel-cut teeth of 
an ordinary file. 

Ratio of Fuel to Iron. — Ratio of fuel to iron 
means the proportion of fuel burned to melt a given 
quantity of iron, as 1 to 5, or 1 to 12, — indicating that five 
pounds of iron is melted with an expenditure of one pound 
of fuel in the first instance, the latter indicating tliat 
twelve pounds is the quantity of iron melted with the same 
amount of fuel. Any attempt to formulate absolute rules 
to be observed by the cupola-man at all foundries alike 
must assuredly result in extreme disappointment, as nearly 
every place has its own special needs and requirements, 
which can be successfully met only by intelligent obser- 
vation and persistent effort on the part of the cupola-man 
or his superiors. For this reason comparisons relating to 
the economics of melting iron at different foundries are of 
no real value, disappointment and loss being sure to attend 
any attempt to aj)propriate the systems of others, Avhich 
may in all probability have been founded on experiences 
diametrically opposite to our own. 

Any conceit we may have indulged in because of our 
ability to melt iron at the ratio of 1 to 10 for the line of 
castings w^e produce must be forever dissipated when we 
discover that the exceedingly low temperature of such 
iron would render it utterly valueless for the light castings 



Ratio of Fuel to Iron. 335 Ratio of Fuel to Iron. 

produced by our neighbor, who for this reason must 
necessarily use more fuel to meet his case successfully. 
The foundry melting a standard gray pig with first-class 
scrap should undoubtedly melt its iron down with greater 
regularity and with much less fuel than where perhaps 
unwieldy and promiscuous scrap with a slight admixture 
of pig is the iron charged. 

Quality of fuel affects results perhaps more than any- 
thing else; if poor, a greater amount must be used to obtain 
the requisite quantity of carbon. This, of course, increases 
the bulk between charges and requires extra time for its 
consumption; while the superfluous, impure substances, as 
slate, etc., yield a viscous slag, which interferes in no small 
degree with the regular process of melting, retarding it 
always. Even when all other things are favorable, the 
pressure of blast and care bestowed on apparatus will al- 
ways exert an influence for better or worse proportionate 
to the amount of intelligence brought to bear upon such 
important details. Leaky pipes and fitful and uncertain 
blast mean extra fuel and delay in melting operations. 

Construction of the cupola and its location, with refer- 
ence to adverse wind currents and draught, is sufl[icient in 
some instances to mar effectually the best efforts of the 
cupola-man, interfering, as it does, with the first efforts to 
ignite the fire, and thus precluding all possibility of an 
evenly-burned stock — a forerunner sometimes of endless 
subsequent vexations and delays. The unfairness of com- 
paring the performance of cupolas laboring under these 
and kindred disadvantages with others of faultless con- 
struction and suitable location will be apparent. 

The wastefulness attending melting small heats in cupo- 
las designed for more extended operations is made plain by 
the following: Suppose a 44-inch cupola is employed for 
a heat of 12,060 pounds, the amount of fuel used, including 
bed, being 2140 pounds: the ratio would be 1 fuel to 5.63 



Katio of Fuel to Iron. 336 Ratio of Fuel to Iron. 

iron melted. Now increase the heat by six additional 
charges of iron to 37,440 pounds, maintaining the same 
ratio of fuel between the charges as before: this gives 4960 
pounds total fuel used, and the ratio is now 1 to 7.53. 
These are only a few of the things to be considered when 
comparisons are made. 

It may be a subject for remark that such a firm is melt- 
ing iron with a much lower ratio of fuel to iron than 
another, and much annoyance is caused by this undisputed 
fact; but all this would perhaps be modified if careful 
investigation were instituted. Possibly this distinguished 
firm is melting carefully selected irons of the same mixture 
every day without deviation all tlie year round — a state 
of things eminently conducive to perfect practice; while 
those with whom they have been compared are, owing to 
the numerous and sometimes unpleasant changes in the 
nature and quality of the castings made, compelled to 
change their mixtures often, and more than once during 
the same heat sometimes. 

Means for rapid transit, or close proximity of the cupola 
to the moulds which are to be poured, will favor metal of 
a low temperature being melted, thus allowing a diminished 
ratio of fuel. But if facilities for conveying are limited 
and the moulds far removed, it is incumbent that hotter 
metal be provided to compensate for the extra time occu- 
pied in handling. This increased temperature can only be 
obtained by increasing the ratio of fuel. 

The preceding represents in some measure a few of the 
reasons for the high ratio of fuel to iron as necessitated 
in foundries which are unfavorably circumstanced as de- 
scribed; still, without doubt, there is considerable waste of 
fuel almost everywhere, that might be remedied if rigid 
investigation by qualified practitioners were established. 
Cupolas now yielding unsatisfactory results at many places 
might be changed to the best of their kind if those 



Ratio of Fuel to Iron. 337 Ratio of Fuel to Iron. 

who work them were compelled to learn the importance 
of placing every charge of fuel and iron in the cupola 
systematically and precise. This, of course, can only be 
done by the cupola-man who knows that in order to retain 
the heat within the cupola and not have it wasted up the 
stack more than ordinary attention must be paid to a 
favorable disposition of the materials charged, and, further, 
that to insure regularity in both speed and fluidity every 
pound of such material should be carefully weighed. By 
this means alone can he pursue a course of safe experi- 
mental practice, the results of which if carefully noted will 
furnish him with all the knowledge essential for supplying 
metal from his cupola at all times the exact temperature 
demanded, and without fear of disappointment. No reli- 
ance can be placed on any method of melting that does 
not include a correct proportioning of the fuel and iron 
at every charge. 

Besides this, it is incumbent on the cupola-man that he 
carefully observe the action of his tuyeres, changing the 
form from time to time, raising or lowering them, increas- 
ing or diminishing their number; or, if the tuyeres be 
continuous, trying the effect of a gradual contraction cr 
expansion from their original width. Expansion of tuyere 
area with no increase in wind-pressure will soften the blast 
while contracting them will have the effect of creating a 
cutting blast if original wind-pressure is maintained. By 
observing results from these several changes, as well as 
increasing and decreasing wind-pressure in the blast-pipes, 
he may arrive at the very best practice possible for the 
cupola he manages, and the ratio of fuel may be reduced 
intelligently to the lowest possible rate consistent with the 
actual requirements of the foundry. 

Much, if not all, of the annoyance and loss consequent 
on melting inferior irons, which include large quantities of 
the meanest machinery, stove-plate scrap, etc., in cupolas 



Rattier. 338 Rectangular Cupola. 

of moderate capacity may be obviated by a persistent 
adoption of the fluxing method. Usually, when large pro- 
portions of such iron are melted in the cupolas above 
mentioned, the heat is short-lived and unsatisfactory; but 
if a suitable flux is used, the dirt in the iron intimately 
associates with it and forms a thin liquid slag, which, by 
means of a slag-hole placed a short distance below the 
tuyeres, can be run off at pleasure, and so continue the 
melting uninterruptedly for an indefinite space of time. 
See Cupola. 

Rattler. — A name given in some localities to the 
tumbling-barrels used for cleaning castings. See TuM- 

BLIKG-BARRELS. 

Rawhide Hammers are light mallets made entirely 
of hide (except the handle), and are especially valuable 
where light, thin castings are made. See Mallet. 

Rectangle. — A right-angled parallelogram; a four- 
sided figure having right angles only. 

Rectangular Cupola. — This style of cupola is not 
often met with at this day, the common round or oval one 
having taken its place almost everywhere. The sides of 
these cupolas were usually composed of four cast-iron 
plates which rested vertically on a solid foundation of stone 
or brick, and were held together by bolts at the corners. 
The widest plates were about one third longer than the 
others, and it is one of these wide plates which faces the 
foundry, being provided with a breast-hole at the bottom, 
which answers for tap-hole, and furnishes means for rak- 
ing out when done melting. In order that the greatest 
quantity of metal possible might be gathered on the bot- 
tom before a tap was made, it was customary to pierce each 
side with several holes about 8 inches apart, one above the 



Bed Brass. 339 Red Lead. 

other, so that by means of a flexible hose or a sliding pipe 
the tuyei-es might be raised as the metal accumulated, the 
blast being suspended during the process of raising the 
pipe and making the lower holes good with suitable plugs. 
The heiglit of these cupolas was about three times the 
length of the long side, and the hole was lined with ordi- 
nary square fire-brick, the bottom being made with sand 
as now. See Cupola; Breast-hole. 

Red Brass. — The common red brass called red tom- 
bac, used for cheap jewelry, is composed of copper 11, 
zinc 1. Red sheet brass is copper 11, zinc 2. A good 
red brass for turning: copper 24, zinc 5, lead 8. Red 
brass for fine castings: copper 24, zinc 5, bismuth 1, 
the latter to be added just before pouring. See Tombac. 

Red Hematite. — A very important class of iron 
ores, which vary in color from a deep-briglit red to gray. 
Its streak and powder are a blood-red. Specular iron is 
a variety of hematite often found in beautifully colored 
crystals. Clay ironstone consists of hematite mixed with 
certain proportions of clay and other impurities. The 
common red chalk is a variety of hematite mixed with 
clay. It is a valuable iron ore, and yields when pure about 
70 per cent of metallic iron. Its powder is used as a color- 
ing material for paints and for polishing metals. The 
variety called "puddler's-mine," being of a soft, compact 
nature, is used for making and repairing the bottoms of 
puddling-furnaces; when used for this purpose it is called 
'* ore " by the puddlers. See Ores; Puddlikg-furnace. 

Red Lead. — When metallic lead is exposed at a red 
heat to a current of aii', the lead rapidly combines with 
oxygen, and the oxide so produced fuses. It forms, on 
cooling, crystalline masses of a greenish-yellow color; this 



Red Ochre. 340 Reduction of Metals 

constitutes the litharge of commerce. Eed lead is pro- 
duced when the lend is oxidized so that the oxide formed 
shall not be fused, and when the metal is all converted 
into the yellow powder, increasing the heat to incipient 
redness. Oxygen continues to be absorbed until one third 
of the metal is converted into peroxide ; this is the pure red 
lead. See Lead; Litharge. 

Red Ochre. — One of the soft, earthy varieties of red- 
hematite iron ore. See Eed-hematite. 

Red-short. — Iron or steel is by the millmen termed 
red- short when it shows an impaired malleability at a red 
heat. See Cold-short. 

Red Tombac— See Eed Brass. 

Reduction of Metals. — The circumstances under 
which the metals are found iu nature are exceedingly 
diverse, some being found in a native state or alloyed with 
other metals, as gold, silver, bismuth, and some others; 
some combined with arsenic, as cobalt, nickel, etc.; but 
by far the most abundant forms in which the metals are 
to be found are combinations with oxygen and sulphur. 
There are few of the metals that do not exist naturally in 
the state of oxides, which are either free or else combined 
with acids, forming salts. The majority of the metals 
exist also in nature combined with sulphur. The native 
compounds of the metals are termed ores, and the metal is 
said to be mineralized by the substance to which it is 
united. The several processes of reduction, or extracting 
the metal, must of course be regulated by the composition 
of the ores in which it is contained. When the metal 
exists only in an oxidized condition, the ore is heated in 
contact with the fuel, by which carbon is supplied in 



Reeking Ingot-moulds. 341 Reeking Ingot-moulds. 

abundance for its reduction. The carbon combines with 
the oxygen and the metal is set free. Slionld the mineral- 
izing substance be anything else than oxygen, carbon, no 
matter how intense the heat, could produce no effect upon 
the ore. Native sulphurets, etc., for this reason are not 
acted upon by carbon; and in order to reduce the metal 
from its sulphuret, the ores of lead, zinc, copper, etc., are 
first reduced to powder and heated to redness in a current 
of air by the oxygen, of which the sulphur is converted 
into sulphurous and sulphuric acid, while the metal is ox- 
idized. This process is termed calcination. A great part 
of the sulphuric acid formed is carried off with the current 
of air, and the remaining product is a sulphate of the 
metal. When the salt so formed is deoxidized by contact 
with the fuel, the excess of oxide, abandoning its oxygen, 
yields an equivalent quantity of metal, which, however, 
would be impure and of inferior quality, having dissolved 
a portion of the sulphuret reproduced by the reduction of 
the sulphur from the sulphuric acid. It is therefore neces- 
sary to get rid of that residual portion of the sulphuric 
acid before the deoxidizing process commences, and this is 
effected by mixing up a quantity of lime with the calcined 
mass. The lime decomposes the metallic sulphate, com- 
bines with the sulphuric acid, and sets the oxide free; and 
when the deoxidizing flames of the reverberatory furnace 
pass over the calcined mass, tlie metallic oxide being re- 
duced yields a pure metal, while the sulphate of lime, by 
losing its oxygen, is brought to the state of sulphuret of 
calcium, and remains a slag upon the surface. For the 
processes by which iron is reduced, see Cast Iron; Cal- 
cination; etc. 

Reeking Ingot-moiilds.— To prevent cast-steel 
ingots from sticking to the cast-iron moulds, it is custom- 
ary, at some steel-works, to place the halves of the moulds 



llefining Metals. 343 Refining Metals. 

with their faces down, upon a suitably provided support, 
which permits the burning coal-tar underneath them to 
deposit a coating of soot upon their surfaces. The process 
is termed reeking. See Ingot-moulds; Running-steel 
Ingots. 

Refining Metals. — The art of purifying a metal from 
dross, or separating it from metallic alloys. More or less 
impurities remain after the common methods of reduction 
have been employed, which can only be eliminated by subse- 
quent refining. Copper, for instance, usually contains 
small quantities of antimony, iron, tin, etc., after reduction 
in the reverberatory furnace used for this purpose. By re- 
melting in the refining-furnace and exposing the metal to 
the oxidizing influence of the air, these foreign metals 
oxidize and are converted to slag, which is skimmed off as 
it rises in the crucible. This operation subjects the copper 
to oxidization also, but the copper oxide is reduced again 
by adding coal to the surface and stirring the metal with a 
green-wood pole. The pole emits its gases forcibly, and 
creates a violent ebullition which exposes every portion to 
the reducing action of the coal, by which means the oxide 
of copper is deprived of its oxygen and the copper is made 
pure. Tin and lead are treated after the same manner 
ordinarily, but special processes are followed for the sepa- 
ration of silver from the latter metal. Gold is refined by 
first dissolving the metal in aqua regia (see Aqua Regia), 
after which the silver, etc., with which it is usually alloyed 
may be precij^itated by chemicals having no action on the 
solution of gold. Salt of iron is then employed to precipi- 
tate the gold in a fine powder, which is then melted and 
cast, the product being pure gold. Refined silver is ob- 
tained by dissolving the metal in nitric acid, and, after 
filtering the solution, precipitating it with common salt as 
a chloride of silver, which, after being mixed with sul- 



Reflecting-glass. 343 . Regenerative Furnace. 

phuric acid, is acted upon by bars of zinc, by which means 
chloride of zinc is formed and the silver again resumes the 
metallic state. See Keducin"g Metals ; Separating 
Metals from their Alloys. For refining iron, see Mal- 
leable Iron; Finery-furnace ; etc. 

Reflectiiig-glass. — A small mirror confined within 
a frame, having a small handle. These glasses are supplied 
by the foundry supply dealers, and are extremely useful 
for directing light down into the deep cavities of a mould. 

Reflector Metal. — Very good reflectors are made by 
dipping the round end of a glass vessel (which has been 
previously ground) into an alloy composed of tin 49, lead 
19. A thin coating of the alloy, remarkably brilliant in ap- 
pearance, will adhere to the ground surface. See Diamond 
AND Brilliant Imitations. 

Refractory Materials. — All such substances as 
melt only at the highest temperatures that can be produced 
are classed as refractory. Amongst these are included some 
natural rocks, as sandstones, quartzites, granites, etc. ; but 
it is not customary to use these alone for metallurgical 
purposes, on account of their liability to split apart at high 
temperatures. The principal substances employed, in vary- 
ing proportions, as mixtures for furnace-linings, crucibles, 
retorts, fire-bricks, etc., are silica, magnesia, bauxite, steatite, 
clays, carbon, gannister, coke, etc. Nearly all clays require 
to be mixed with other materials, to counteract the ten- 
dency to shrink and crack. If it were not for these admix- 
tures, the bricks made from some of the clays would soften 
and melt away when subjected to very high temperatures. 
A description of the materials mentioned, and numerous 
other refractory substances, will be found at their respective 
places. 



Reheating-furnace. ^>44 Repairing the Cupola. 

Regenerative Furnace. — The Siemens regener- 
ative furnace is composed of three divisions, including the 
producers, where the crude gas is generated; the regenera- 
tors, chambers containing a network of fire-brick passages 
through which the heated gases and flame may circulate 
and the heat be stored as they escape from the furnace, to 
be again mixed with the gases from the producer and the 
air as they pass through the regenerator to the furnace 
hearth; and the furnace itself, which is the third division. 
By this arrangement the outgoing heated vohitile products 
heat the mass]of bricks in the chamber, and this again heats 
the incoming air and gas supplied to the furnace. See 
Siemens-Martin Steel. 

Relieating-furnace. — These furnaces, although 
used for various purposes, are all of the reverberatory type, 
similar to a puddling-furnace. They are used for heating 
wrought-iron piles, blooms, billets, etc., and the ingots, 
slabs, blooms, etc., of steel, to the temperature suitable for 
hammering or rolling. They are sometimes called halling- 
furnaces. See Keverberatory Furnace. 

Relievo, or Rilievo, is a term applied to works in 
sculpture and the fine arts where figures are made to pro- 
ject from the ground or body on which they are formed and 
to which they remain attached. It is Basso-rilievo when the 
figures project only slightly from the ground, Mezzo-rilievo 
when they stand out half their natural proportions, and 
AUo-rilievo, or high relief, when the figures are so prominent 
from the ground that merely a small part of them remains 
attached. See Intaglio. 

Repairing tlie Cnpola.— The first duty of the 
cupola-man, after the refuse of the previous day has been 
carefully picked for whatever iron and unburnt fuel may 
be found, is to chip out the cinder and scoria from the in- 



Repairing the Cupola. 345 Repairing tlie Cupola. 

side of liis cupola and ascertain what damage has been done 
to the walls. Now, good tools for this operations are an 
absolute necessity, as the more pounding required for the 
loosening of this adhering dirt, the more will the brick lin- 
ing be loosened — a result to be avoided if possible. For this 
operation the cupola-man should be supplied with an ade- 
quate set of steel-pointed chisel-bars, large and small, and 
these, along with steel pick-hammers of suitable dimensions, 
should be kept sharp and of proper temper. When tools of 
this class are supplied there will be no difficulty in chipping 
out in such a way as to jar the bricks but little, and leave 
the surface clean and ready for the daubing, and in much 
less time than it takes to do it in the slipshod way it must 
inevitably be done where perhaps only a sledge-hammer is 
used. 

The chief object in repairing is to maintain as near as 
possible the original shape of the cupola. Except at the 
melting zone, just above the tuyeres, this may be accom- 
plished fairly well; but at that point there Avill be, owing to 
the intense heat and force of the blast a decided tendency 
of the bricks to waste away; and it is just here where the 
judgment and skill of the cupola-man is put to the test, 
as by proper management a lining may be preserved almost 
indefinitely. By careful observation it may be seen which 
parts are being acted upon the most. Follow up at these 
parts with thin coats of daubing (see Daubing), and use 
]io more than will adhere firmly to the wall, without fear 
of its being prematurely loosened by the intense heat. 
The bad effects from using too much daubing of any kind 
may be understood when we consider that most of this dry- 
ing must take place immediately the heat is intensified by 
the admission of the blast; the front of the patching dries 
at once, and the rapidly formed steam should find an outlet 
at the brickwork behind; failing this it naturally forces off 
the daubing, which falls over on the stock, the result being 



Reservoir. S46 Resin. 

that the regular action of the cupola is interfered with to 
the extent of changing the direction of the blast and pre- 
venting the iron as it melts from falling direct to the bot- 
tom ; by this means some iron finds its way into the tuyeres, 
some lodges around them and solidifies, ultimately choking 
the orifice altogether. Thin daubing, luell rubbed on, will 
never fall away if made of the correct ingredients. When 
it has been thought necessary to insert new bricks at parts, 
as well as to rub on more daubing than usual, light up a 
little earlier in order to dry it out with a more gentle heat. 
Better a little extra expense in fuel than run the risk of a 
bad heat. See Daubii^g; Cupola. 

Reservoir. — Dams constructed for the purpose of 
gathering a large quantity of metal are sometimes called 
reservoirs; as also are runner-basins when constructed of 
extraordinary dimensions to receive the molten metal from 
very large pouring-ladles. See Dams; Basin; Gather- 
ing-metal. 

Resin is a solid, inflammable substance, of vegetable 
origin, being obtained from various trees by making inci- 
sions in their bark and allowing the liquid to exude. This 
liquid is the essential oil of the plant, and holds the resin 
in solution. Resins are insoluble in water, but alcohol dis- 
solves them ; they are of an inflammable nature, and yield a 
dense, sooty smoke when burning. Mastic, sanclarac, lac, 
copal, etc., are some of the resins from which varnishes are 
made, all of which are readily dissolved in such solvents as 
spirits of wine, oil of turpentine, methylated spirit, and wood 
naphtha. The evaporation of the spirit, after these varnishes 
have been applied, leaves a hard layer of the resin on the 
surface of the object treated. The common resin, or rosin, 
of commerce is obtained from the various species of pine. 
Gum-resins are the solidified milky exudations of plants. 



Hestoring Burnt Steel. 34'? Retort. 

They consist of resiu, essential oils, and a gummy substauce 
peculiar to the plant. The ammoniacum, assafoetida, aloes, 
myrrh, gamboge, etc., belong to this class; they are all 
soluble in rectified alcohol, and are valuable as medicinal 
agents principally. Elastic gums, as caoutchouc or india- 
rubber and gutta-percha, are valuable in the arts and manu- 
factures; the former consists of a thick milky juice of 
certain trees growing in tropical countries, and is a mixtui-e 
of several hydrocarbons with turpentine oil. When pure it 
is nearly white. It will soften in boiling water, but not 
dissolve; it is also insoluble in alcohol, but readily dissolves 
in coal naphtha, rectified oil of turpentine, pure ether, 
chloroform, or carbonic disulphide. Caoutchouc is ren- 
dered more permanently elastic by combining with it certain 
proportions of sulphur. It is then called vulcanized india- 
richher. See Gutta-percha; Ikdia-rubber. 

Restoring Burnt Steel. — It is said that burnt 
steel may be restored by making a powder composed of 8 
oz. sal-ammoniac, 3 oz. jDrussiate of potash, 3 oz. borax, 
1\ lbs. resin, 2 oz. blue clay, ^ pint alcohol, and |- pint of 
water. These ingredients are to simmer over a fire until 
dried to a powder; the burnt steel may then be reheated, 
dipped in the powder, and hammered. See Tempering. 

Retort. — A vessel employed for the purpose of decom- 
posing bodies by the aid of heat, the process being termed 
distillation. Those used in the chemist's laboratory are a 
kind of globular bottle, with a long neck bent at an angle 
of about sixty degrees with the belly of the retort; they are 
made of glass, porcelain, platinum, earthenware, etc., accord- 
ing to the substances to be acted upon. The spirit-lamp, 
gas, or sand-bath is usually employed for heating glass 
retorts, but when higher temperatures are required it is 
necessary to use those made of platinum or earthenware. 



Eeturn-facing. B48 Eeverberatory Furnace. 

Single retorts for distilling coal-gas are usually made 
D-sliaped, about 21 X 14 inches X 9 feet, closed at one 
end, and provided with a mouthpiece at the other. 

Tltrougli retorts are made twice this length, with both 
ends open, but having mouthpieces which close them dur- 
ing the process of distillation. Formerly these retorts 
were all made of cast iron, but they are fast being super- 
seded by those made of fire-clay, which admit of higher 
temperatures and last much longer. The distillation of 
mercury from cinnabar is conducted in retorts similar to 
those used for making illuminating-gas. See Distilla- 
Tioi^ ; Mercury ; Tar. 

Return-facing. — The nse of return-facing is con- 
fined principally to foundries manufacturing thin, light 
castings, as stoves, etc.; where, having no coal mixed 
through the sand, means must be provided, not only to 
scale the casting clean, but leave thecolor uniform through- 
out. To effect this the raw sand surfaces of the moulds 
are first treated to a dusting of bolted hydraulic cement or 
German clay (a cheap substitute for heavy carbon-facing) 
to fill the pores of the sand, then a light dusting of heavy 
facing, and, lastly, the return-facing in just sufficient 
quantity to permit the pattern, when returned, to leave 
its impression sharp and smooth without sticking. The 
c:ii-bonized preparations of return-facings supplied by the 
dealers are, as a rule, preferable to the light charcoal-fac- 
ings usually employed for this purpose, as they neither run 
before the metal nor adhere to the j^attcrn as much as 
charcoal is liable to. See Printing; Facing. 

Reverberatory Furnace. — Democritus is sup- 
posed to have invented the reverberatory furnace long 
before the birth of Christ. These furnaces are constructed 
so that the materials (o be treated are operated upon by the 



Eeverse-mould. 349 Reverse-mould. 

heat of the flame without their coming into direct contact 
with the fuel. The reverberatory furnace is commonly 
employed for metallurgic purposes, and is especially ad- 
vantageous for extracting metals from their ores, and for 
the numerous processes connected with the manufacture 
of malleable iron, steel, melting cast-iron, brass, etc. 

The furnace consists usually of a rectangular fire-brick 
construction about twelve feet long, six feet wide, and 
from five to six feet in height, contained within iron 
plates which are bound together by an arrangement of 
buckstays and bolts. The fireplace at one end is separated 
from the bed proper by a fire-bridge, and an arched roof is 
made to dip towards the chimney at the opposite end of 
the furnace; by this means the flame is caused to play 
with considerable force over the fire-bridge and against 
the roof, to be again reflected or reverberated downwards 
upon whatever has been placed upon the bed behind the 
bridge. A charging-hole is provided on the side opposite 
to the fireplace for fuel, and a larger one for charging the 
materials to be operated upon is also provided convenient 
to the bed, some distance from its bottom. The latter hole 
is opened and closed by a vertically sliding door, the inner 
side of which is lined with fire-bricks, and is controlled by 
means of a lever; but the hole at the fireplace is simply 
stopped with coal. A hole at the bottom of the chimney 
allows the cinder produced during the puddling process 
to escape as it flows down from the bed over a bridge built 
in the flue. Other smaller holes are provided to permit a 
free use of iron bars for polling, etc., during the operations. 
Except in a few minor particulars, the air or reverberatory 
furnace for melting metals answers to the above description. 
See Puddling-furnace; Malleable Iron; Pollin^g. 

Reverse-mould is sometimes termed ^dummy-Uoclc, 
and consists of forming in loam or sand, by means of the 



Revolving Furnace. 350 Revolving Furnace, 

spindle-centre or otherwise, any model, the impression of 
which it is desired to copy in the cope or other containing 
part of the mouhl. This means is employed when it is 
desired to obtain a casting such as a bevel or spur-wheel, 
etc., without incurring the expense of supplying a whole 
pattern. 

For example, if it was required to mould a bevel-wheel 
after this manner, the first operation would be to strike a 
reverse-mould or "dummy " answering to the permanent 
joint at the points of the teeth, and from thence over the 
entire back of the wheel exact to the wheel's form and 
dimensions on that side. This would give a true model of 
the back, the impression of which being obtained in the 
cope, it only remains to first destroy the "dummy" and 
then sweep out the lower sui'face direct, commencing at 
the points of the teeth again, as for the cope impression. 
After the teeth are rammed from the segment supplied, 
and the arm-cores have been placed, the cope, as previ- 
ously obtained from the reverse-mould, is returned. 

The joint is the original one from which the cope im- 
pression was taken; if tops of teeth and arm-cores are 
made to correspond with the original model obtained, the 
mould will close as accurately as when a full pattern is 
employed. A thicknessed pan-core serves as a reverse- 
mould for the cope. See Dummy-block; Kettle; Back- 
ing-out. 

Revolving Fvirnace. — Kevolving furnaces consist 
of horizontal wrought-iron cylinders lined with fire-brick, 
one end of which communicates with a fireplace and the 
other to a chimney, which, being revolved on rollers as the 
flame passes through the interior, permits a thorough mix- 
ing of the mass and exposes every portion of the material to 
the action of tlie heat. This description of furnace is princi- 
pally employed for roasting, desulphurizing, and chloridiz- 



Revolving Oven. 351 Rice- glue Statuary. 

ing ores. • The Daiiks and other furnaces of a rotary kind 
are used for puddling purposes, and consist of the fixed fire- 
place and bridge, but, instead of the regular bed, a re- 
volving hearth through which the flames are made to pass 
to the chimney is used for melting the metal. The molten 
metal, being spread over the interior by the rotary action 
of the chamber, is brought in contact with the lining, 
which, being composed of iron ore, acts in conjunction witli 
the oxygen of the furnace gases to oxidize the carbon and 
silicon contained in the iron. The spongy mass of malle- 
able iron produced is readily lifted out and conveyed to 
the squeezers after the movable end has been taken away 
for this purpose. See Puddling-furnace; Malleable 
Irois'. 

Revolving Oven. — See Kotary Ovek. 

Revolving Sand-screen.— See Kiddles. 

Rhodium is one of the rare metals of the platinum 
group. Excepting iridium, it is the most infusible metal, 
very hard and brittle, and of a whitish color. When this 
metal is alloyed with copper, bismuth, or platinum, it may 
be dissolved with them in aqua regia, but it is insoluble 
in acids when pure. Owing to its unalterable nature, 
rhodium has been extensively used to form the nibs of 
metallic pens and other similar purposes. See Platinum. 

Rice-glue Statuary.— Statuary com230sed of rice- 
glue or paste is a very common production of the Japanese, 
who mix the flour with cold water and then boil to the 
consistency of paste, adding whatever color is desired. 
This paste, when stiffened by a further addition of flour to 
the consistency of clay, is then modelled and allowed to 



Riddles. 352 Riddles. 

dry, when it assumes the ai^pearance of marble, and will 
take a beautiful polish. See Statuary-founding; Mod- 
elling; Plaster-oasts. 

Riddles. — There is no tool that a moulder uses more 
constantly than a riddle, and it behooves the proprietor to 
buy the very best riddle that he can find. The reason is 
obvious. A cheap riddle is put together in the quickest 
manner possible, the wood nsed in the rim is of the com- 
monest kind, and much too light for the purpose. The 
wire is bought by the pound, therefore the lighter wire 
is put in the riddle to lessen the cost; the wire for, say, a 
No. 6 extra-heavy riddle is used for a No. 4 cheap riddle, 
etc.; then the cloth is cut so sparingly that it does not 
wrap upon the rim far enough to hold for any length of 
time. Nine times out of ten one or the other (cloth or rim) 
gives way before the light wire wears out. 

The brass riddle is undoubtedly the best for use on the 
foundry-floor: it never rusts; the wires are always clean 
of sand, allowing the use of the full mesh. A steel-wire 
riddle will rust; and the galvanized riddle having wires 
of a rough surface, the sand will cling to them, filling 
up the meshes, thereby taking longer time to riddle the 
sand. 

Eor iron, coal, or cinder riddles the heavy crimped 
iron-wire riddle is the best. Those made especially for 
sifting iron out of sand and other similar uses should be 
made one-inch mesh, from good strong iron wire. Parting- 
sand riddles or sieves, any diameter, with or without cross- 
bars, can be obtained from the dealers, and special sizes of 
heavy steel sand-screens maybe had from the same parties, 
as well as an endless variety of power and portable sand- 
sifting machines. The revolving riddle or screen is a 
remarkable improvement on existing methods for sifting 
and mixing sand. See Sand-screen, 



Rigging. 353 Roasting Ores. 

Rigg'iiig. — "Rigging" and "tackle" are synonymous 
terms in the foundry, meaning the furnishings or appa- 
ratus provided for the construction of moulds. Founda- 
tion-plate, rings, plates, beams, slings, bolts, etc., constitute 
a large proportion of the rigging for loam-work; while the 
flasks, cheeks, drawback-plates, clamps, bolts, beams, etc., 
represent the rigging almost always required for any im- 
portant mould in green or dry sand. 

Ring. — A word of general application to all circular 
contrivances for moulding purposes, but invariably recog- 
nized as meaning the cast-iron ring which encircles the 
seating of a loam-mould, upon which ring the cope is built, 
and by means of which it is passed to the oven and from 
thence back to the pit for final closing over the mould. 
See Cope-eing; Cope; Loam-moulding; Building-king. 

Ring-lbolt.— See Eye-bolt. 

Riser. — A gate set on the top or leading from the side 
of a casting, either to indicate when the moiild is filled 
with metal or to be used as a means for introducing fresh 
supplies of hot fluid metal to make good the deficiency 
caused by shrinkage. In the latter instance the riser is 
often called a cut-off or flow-gate; in the former the terms 
" rising-head" or " feeding-head" are commonly used. See 
Cut-off; Flow-gate; Feeding-head; Feeding-rod. 

Rising-head.— See Eiser. 

Roasting Ores. — Ores are roasted in order to sepa- 
rate the volatile bodies from those which are more fixed, 
and is generally performed in a current of air so as to 
effect simultaneous oxidation. See Ores; Weathering 
Ores. 



Eock. 354 Eod-iron. 

Rock. — A stony substance wliicli forms a great part of 
the earth's crust, sometimes loose and friable-like sand, 
and again compact, like granite and limestone. Eocks are 
classified as primitive, rocks of transition, stratified, allu- 
vial depositions, and volcanic, and modifications resulting 
from the conditions to which they have been exposed. 

Rock-cruslier. — A mill for breaking and crushing 
rocks; it may also be used for pulverizing quartz, gold or 
silver ores, plumbago, Portland cement, rosin, foundry 
facings, etc. Some of the machines used for this purpose 
will work either wet or dry, and deliver a finished product. 
Their capacity is 3 to 4 tons per hour on pliosphate rock, 
IJ to 2 tons per hour on Portland cement, quartz, or ores, 
depending on hardness of material to be pulverized and 
fineness of product, and will grind from 30 to 250 mesh 
with equal facility. See Sand-pulverizer. 

Rock-crystal. — A common name for the finest and 
purest quartz or transparent, crystallized silica. The inhhh 
lenses for spectacles, etc., are made from rock-crystal. See 
Quartz; Silica. 

Rock-oil. — See Petroleum. 

Rock-sand. — The name given to all moulding-sands 
obtained by pulverizing the rock; their value is regulated 
according to the durability they possess. The new red- 
sandstone is preferable for this purpose, as its nature is 
refractory, and it may by artificial means be made to an- 
swer nearly every description of mould. See Facing-SAKd; 
Core-sand; etc. 

Rod-iron. — The common round and square rolled 
iron, used in the foundry for making feeding-rods, gaggers, 
lifters, core-irons, mould-stiffeners, etc. 



Rolled Glass. 355 Rolls. 

Rolled Glass. — An inferior kind of plate-glass about 
one inch in thickness is now made for common purposes by- 
first obtaining the requisite quantity of molten glass in a 
suitable dipper and then emptying it on a casting-table, on 
tlie edges of which are the thickness strips, on which the 
roller travels as it spreads the glass over the surface. 

Rolls are cylindrical rollers of steel or cast iron, which 
when mounted in the housings so that they cannot recede 
from each other, and provided with suitable gearing for 
causing them to revolve, are employed for reducing metals 
to plates, rails, bars, etc. Steel is fast taking the place of 
cast iron for the manufacture of rolls. 

Cast-iron rolls are made to present a hard steely surface 
by casting the plain body in a smooth cast-iron chill-mould, 
the ends of the casting being formed in the sand or loam as 
for soft rolls. Common soft rolls may be swept horizontally, 
as described in ^' The Iron Founder," p. 274; also vertically, 
as an ordinary loam-mould; or they may be moulded from 
patterns in either of the positions mentioned — the only 
difference being that the pattern for horizontal moulding 
must be equally divided lengthwise, whilst the one for ver- 
tical would consist of a separate upper and lower neck and 
body patterns, with drag, check, and cope parts to match. 
The latter represents the method to be employed for chilled 
rolls, excepting that instead of the body-pattern and cheek- 
part, the chill is here substituted, consisting of a smooth 
cast-iron mould of sufficient thickness to absorb the heat 
rapidly, and thus produce a hard steely surface by prevent- 
ing any separation of the chemically combined carbon into 
graphite at that part. 

Whatever mode of moulding is adopted, it is all impor- 
tant that the metal be introduced at the lower neck, away 
from any direct action on the chill; otherwise the chill may 
be irretrievably damaged, and, if the stream be caused to 



Rolling-mill. 356 Root's Positive Blower. 

flow in a tangential direction, the molten mass within will 
be made to rotate rapidly, and thus collect all the lighter 
scum in the centre, which, as the mould is filled, miOunts 
upward, to be finally ejected into the open riser above. See 

KiSER. 

Rolliiig-liiill is where the balls from the puddling- 
furnace, after being operated upon by the squeezer, are, by 
means of successive passes through the various rolls, re- 
duced in bulk, with a corresponding increase in length, 
until the desired bars or sheets are produced. See Mal- 
leable Iron; Train. 

Rollings-over. — A term applied to the method of ob- 
taining bottom or lower portions of mould by first ramming 
the pattern within the drag or nowel part, and then revers- 
ing the position of the flask, by means proportionate to its 
size and weight. Ordinarily the pattern is placed face down 
on the foUow-board or match-plate, over which is set the 
nowel or drag. The pattern, being first covered with facing- 
sand, is then subjected to a process of ramming until the 
flask is filled with sand, when, if the flask be an open one, 
a board or plate is laid over and clamped firmly to the fol- 
low-board, but should there be cross-bars in the flask, the 
plate is dispensed with. After clamping, the whole is rolled 
over, and is ready for subsequent operations. See Follow- 
board; Match-plate. 

Roman Cement. — A beautiful cement, improperly 
called liouian, is made as follows: Calcine 3 parts of 
ordinary clay, and mix it with 2 parts lime; giind it to 
powder, and calcine again. 

Root's Positive Blower. — The internal operating 
parts of this positive blower consist of two revolvers^ each 



Rope. 



357 



Rope, 



of whicli is operative. Externally the blower consists of 
the case, four journals and journal-boxes, four cut gears, 
an oil-tight housing, and two driving-pulleys. This 
blower operates by a regular displacement of air at each 
revolution, whether it runs fast or slow. When the air 
enters the case at the opening for induction, and is closed 
in by the wings of the revolvers, it is absolutely confined, 
and positively forced forward until brought to the eduction- 
pipe, where it must be discharged, or the machine stop, if 
perfectly tight, as there can be no backward escapement of 
the air after it once enters the case, the contact being kept 
up at all times in the centre of the blower between the 
pistons or revolvers, thus preventing any escape of the air 
in that direction. See Blower; Blast. 



Rope. — Any cord over an inch in diameter is called a 
rope. Ropes are principally made of vegetable fibre, the 
chief of which is hemp. Coir rope is made from the 
fibrous husk of the cocoanut; manilla rope from the fibres 
of a species of banana; in addition to which cotton and 

TABLE OF 

Dimensions and Weights of Short-linked Chains and Ropes, 

AND Proof of the Chain in Tons. (Haswell.) 





14 

0,5 


II 




IN 


CM 




9l 


a 
u 




5^ 


^ ^ 


^S 


o=S 


0; ^ cS 


s^ 


^ ^ 


^02 


o'S 


^^^ 


Inches. 


Lbs. 


Tons. 


Inches. 


Lbs. 


Inches. 


Lbs. 


Tons. 


Inches. 


Lbs. 


t'w 


6 


.75 


2i 


1.5 


H 


28 


6.5 


7 


10.5 


t 


8.5 


1.5 


H 


2.5 


f 


32 


7.75 


n 


12 


^ 


11 


2.5 


4 


3.75 


tI 


36 


9.25 


8i 


15 




14 


3.5 


4| 


5 


i 


44 


10.75 


9 


17.5 


T^ 


18 


4.5 


51 


7 


If 


50 


12.5 


9.V 


19.5 


' 


24 


5.25 


H 


8.7 


1 


50 


14 


10 


22 



Note.— The ropes of the sizes given in the table are considered to be of equal 
strength with the chains. 



Rope-slings. S58 Rosin-cotes. 

other similar substances enter largely into the business of 
rope-making. Wire rope, both iron and steel, is now ex- 
tensively employed both on shipboard and on land. The 
machines invented by Mr. John Good, Brooklyn, N. Y., 
and others have made it possible to so manufacture 
ropes that their strength may be measured with the 
greatest exactness. Large cable-laid ropes consist of three 
large strands, each made up of three smaller strands. 
Hawser-laid rope has only three strands, each containing a 
sufficient number of yarns to make up the required thick- 
ness. 

Rope-slings. — A very handy and useful substitute 
for heavy iron slings, when the flasks to be turned over are 
not too ponderous. Made as a single strand, with eyes at 
each end, or by splicing both ends of the rope together, 
they are infinitely superior to chains where large wood 
flasks are in constant service. The dealers supply these 
slings, leather-bound at theloops and middle, as desired. 
See Slings. 

Rose's Fusible Alloy.— This alloy melts at 201°, 
and is composed of bismuth 2, lead 1, and tin 1. See 
Fusible Alloys. 

Rosin-cores. — When a core contains more or lesc 
rosin in its composition it is called a rosin-core. Where 
large numbers of dry-sand column or other cores are in 
constant requisition, rosin may be readily substituted for 
flour if a pulverizer is obtained for grinding the cheap 
grades bought in bulk; besides which it is much cheaper 
than good foundry flour. 

To secure the best results, it is important that the rosin 
be ground very fine in order tliat its gumminess may be 
more generally disseminated throughout the mass, and thus 






Rosse Telescope. 359 Rosse Telescope. 

streugthen the green core. It may also be said that, 
owing to the closer intimacy of the grains of rosin, the 
sand-grains are spread out and a free passage is made for 
the gases to travel towards the vents. For small cores 
made from fine beach or free sand the proportion of rosin 
may be one to eleven; less when stronger sands are used. 
Should cores made from this proportion lack stiffness when 
green, a little molasses or glue- water will serve to increase 
their tenacity. Large column-cores, round or square, may 
be made from a mixture composed of 14 each of fire 
and beach sand, with G of moulding-sand and 3 of finely 
pulverized rosin added. Cores made from these ingredi- 
ents, if well dried and allowed to cool before removing, are 
extremely tough and unyielding, and for this reason the 
system of core-ironing may be of the simplest kind. 

The sands composing these mixtures being principally 
free sand, are at once liberated when the rosin has burned 
out, making the core-cleaning a matter of the least diffi- 
culty imaginable. See Flour; Molasses; Glue; Core- 
sand. 

Rosse Telescope. — This wonderful telescope was 
made by the renowned astronomer Lord Rosse (born 1800, 
died 1867), who devoted a great portion of his life to 
the improvement of reflecting telescopes, and succeeded 
in mounting one of 3-feet aperture at his home. Birr 
Castle, Ireland, in the year 1839. In 1842 the now 
celebrated six-foot reflector was successfully cast and 
polished, being finally mounted in 1845. The immense 
tube which contains it is 54 feet long and 7 feet di- 
ameter. The speculum metal employed for casting 
this reflector consisted of 4 equivalents of copper to 1 
of tin, which is equal in weight to the following pro- 
portions : Copper 252.8, tin 117.8. This alloy is ex- 
ceedingly hard and brittle, will take a beautiful white 



Rotary Blower. 360 Rotary Core oven. 

polish, and does not readily tarnish; but, owing to its 
extreme brittleness, there was much difficulty experi- 
enced in obtaining a speculum casting of this magni- 
tude absolutely free from shrinkage cracks, gas-holes, and 
a decided tendency to warp out of shape. To obviate these 
difficulties, the cooling of the mass must be controlled and 
the gas eliminated ; all of which, we are told, was success- 
fully accomplished by Lord Kosse after a somewhat novel 
fashion. He formed the face side of his mould with hoop- 
irons, side by side, and edge up. When this iron bed had 
been thus made, the outside edge was formed with sand, and 
the casting poured as an open mould. The closely packed 
hoop-iron bed contained comparatively no gas-producing 
substances, as sand does, and whatever gas might exude 
from the metal thereon would be instantly pressed through 
the countless interstices by the superincumbent pressure 
of the metal above. See Speculum Metal ; Tin. 

Rostliorn's Austrian Metal for Cannon.— 

See Gun-metal. 

Rotary Blower. — A machine provided with rotating 
pistons or vanes, the motion of which produces an increased 
current of air. See Blast; Blowers. 

Rotary Core-oven. — When properly constructed, 
this oven consists of a fireplace suitably located for supply- 
ing sufficient heat without burning the cores, and the oven 
structure is limited to the diameter of the rotating shelves, 
which are affixed to a central shaft, the lower end of 
which rests in a step, its vertical position being secured 
by a suitable contrivance at the roof. The latter, like the 
outer walls, must be no farther from the rotating shelves 
than is absolutely necessary. By this means quicker drying 
is obtained than would occur if unnecessary space had to 



notary Squeezer. 361 Rouge. 

be heated. The shelves may be either plain or grate, and 
as wide apart as will accommodate the class of cores to be 
dried. By this admirable contrivance the process of drying 
cores is materially facilitated, as the core-maker stands at 
the door, outside and away from the heat and gas, simply 
rotating the shelves in order to place within or carry away 
his cores. See Ovens. 

Rotary Mucldliiig-fiiriiace. — See Revolviiig 

FURl^ACE. 

Rotary Squeezer. — A shingling-machine used to 
consolidate and weld together the puddled balls and expel 
the cinder therefrom. There are many forms of squeezers, 
reciprocating as well as rotary. The rotary may be worked 
either vertically or horizontally. A strong cylindrical casing 
provided with an opening equal to about one fourth of its 
circumference forms the outside; the inside consists of a 
rotating cylinder, placed excentric to the casing, but with 
parallel faces. Both faces are deeply corrugated, and, as 
the inner cylinder revolves towards the small aperture, the 
puddled ball, entering at the widest part, is carried round 
and subjected to a gradually increased compression until 
it is forced out at the small end in a suitable shape and 
condition for passing through the rolls. The process is 
termed shingling. See Malleable Iron". 

Rottenstoiie. — A brownish-gray or reddish-brown 
mineral, found chiefly in Derbyshire, England. Its com- 
position is alumina 86, silex 4, carbon 10. It is supposed 
to be decomposed shale. It is easily reduced to powder, 
and is largely used for polishing metals. See Polishing 
Substances. 

Rouge. — The light-red powder used for polishing 
speculums, and extensively employed by jewellers for 



Roughing-up. 362 Rubidium and Caesium. 

polishing glass and metal work. The protosulphate of 
iron is calcined until nothing remains but the anhydrous 
sesquioxide, which is afterwards submitted to fine leviga- 
gation. See Speculum; Levigation". 

Rovigliing-rolls.— See Malleable Iron" ; Train. 

Rougliiiig-iip. — A term applied to the first process 
when covering the bricks of a loam-mould with loam. After 
the bricks are set three fourths of an inch back from the 
sweep-board, the coarse, wet loam is rubbed vigorously on the 
bricks to make it adhere firmly, a little more than enough 
being spread over. The sharp edge of the sweep-board 
scrapes off the surplus, leaving a rough face — hence the 
term. This rough face is afterwards made smooth by the 
application of fine loam, over which the sweep-board is 
again drawn in the opposite direction. See Bricking-up; 
Loam-board; Skinning-loam. 

Rubber.— See Resin; Ij^dia-rubber. 

Rubber Patterns are patterns made from India- 
rubber, and vulcanized. This substance makes elegant 
and durable patterns for hardware castings, etc., and may 
be readily attached to either a card or match plate. See 
In^dia-rubber. 

Rubkliuni and Csesium. — These metals were dis- 
covered by Bunsen and Kirchoff in ISGO in some spring- 
water they were analyzing. They are found in other 
waters, in the ashes of beet-root, in the mineral lepidolite, 
and are also found associated with potassium. Both 
these metals are closely analogous to potassium, but are 
more easily fusible and convertible into vapor, and also 
have more attraction for oxygen. Rubidium burns on 



Rttbstond. 363 fiunner-stick. 

water like potassium, and fires spontaneously in the air. 
See Potassium. 

Rubstone. — A prepared emery block for cleaning 
and rubbing scales from castings; it is an excellent substi- 
tute for casting-brush, and for some purposes superior; 
this, as well as the vitrified rubstone, is to be obtained 
from the supply dealers in convenient sizes for hand use. 
See Emery. 

Ruby. — A precious stone almost equal in value to the 
diamond. Some regard the ruby as a red variety of the 
sapphire. There are balas, or rose-red rubies; alamantine, 
or violet and brown rubies; and oriental rubies from Bur- 
mah and Ceylon, which are the finest red. The ruby is a 
silicate of magnesia and alumina, with lime, manganese, 
and iron in varying admixtures. See Precious Stones. 

Rviniier. — A foundry term synonymous with " gate," 
and of general application to almost every system adopted 
by moulders for leading the fluid metal into moulds. For 
instance, the metal enters the mould by the runner; a 
basi7i is termed runner-basin ; and there is the dro'p- 
runner, the si^Ze-runner, the fou7itai7i-YunTier, the spray- 
runner, etc. The channel-basin for pouring open-sand 
work, and every variety of pattern for forming passage- 
ivays in the sand or loam for the metal to course through 
— all in their respective localities, are recognized as run- 
ners. See GrATE; Basin; Drop-runner, Fountain- 
runner, etc. 

Runner-box. — The wood or iron casing in which the 
pouring-basin is formed. See Basin. 

Runner-stick. — A common name, in some districts, 
for the gate-pin. See Gate-pin. 



Hunning-tliroiigii, 364 Hust-joint. 

Running-steel Ingots.— See Ikgots. 

Running-through. — A rather questionable method 
in some foundries of trying to produce clean sound cast- 
ings by forcing more or less fluid metal through the mould 
and out at the riser after the mould is full. If the mould 
manifests a condition of unrest by voiding air or steam, 
which should have been carried away in a more legitimate 
manner by the process of venting, it is well to continue 
the pouring slowly in order to compensate for what is 
thrown out at the gates and risers; beyond this it is simply 
waste, as neither dirt nor gas, remote from the risers, will 
be favorably affected by such a method, no matter how 
long the process is continued. The value of running 
through into built-up risers accrues from the increased 
pressure exerted on the casting. See Cut-opf; Kisee. 

Run-up. — A foundry term, signifying that the mould 
is full of molten metal. If there should be any lacking, 
it is then called '^ short-run.^' See Short-euit. 

Russia Plate-iron. — A remarkably pure iron made 
in Kussia, which, by special processes of refining and anneal- 
ing, is rendered very tough and flexible. Owing to these 
excellent qualities, it is capable of being rolled exceedingly 
thin, and will bear much hammering and bending at a red 
heat without cracking at the edges. 

Rust-joint. — A quick-setting compound is made from 
pulverized sal-ammoniac 1 lb., flour of sulphur 2 lbs., 
iron borings 80 lbs.; mix to a paste with water in quanti- 
ties as required for use. A better cement than the above, 
but requiring more time to set, is made from sal-ammoniac 
2 lbs., sulphur 1 lb., iron filings 206 lbs. See Cements. 



Rust, To preserve from. 365 Safety-lamp 

Rust, To preserve from. — It is commonly cltiimed 
that iron, under ordinary conditions, decomposes water, 
abstracts the oxygen and combines witli it, and thus 
forms rust; but it is now asserted that tlie chief agent in 
this phenomenon is carbonic acid, which, if excluded, 
neither moist nor di-y oxygen can affect the iron to rust it. 

Polished steel or iron is prevented from rusting by ap- 
plying a coat of paraffine, or steeping the object for a few 
minutes in a solution of sulphate of copper, and then 
transferring it into a solution of hyposulphite of soda 
acidulated with hydrochloric acid. The coating obtained 
will resist the action of either air or water. 

Cast iron is best preserved by rubbing with black lead. 
Polished work may be varnished with wax dissolved in 
benzine. Clean white wax may be rubbed over polished 
work when hot, and allowed to remain some time, after 
which rub over with a piece of serge. 

Deep-seated rust may be removed with benzine, or soak 
the object in kerosene for a day. 

Rutlieiiiuiii. — This is the most refractory of all 
metals except osmium. It has, however, been fused in the 
oxyhydrogen flame. Euthenium is scarcely attacked by 
nitro-muriatic acid. After fusion it has a density of 11.4. 
See Metals. 

S. 

Safety-lamj). — This is simply an ordinary oil-lamp 
enclosed in a cage of wire-gauze, which permits the light 
to pass out, but prevents the exit of flame. Tliis lamp is 
the invention of Sir Humphry Davy. The explosions of 
carburetted hydrogen gas in coal-mines, from the unpro- 
tected lamps of the miners, caused great destruction of life, 
and various arrangements had been fruitlessly made to 



Saggers. 



366 Salamander. 



prevent such fearful accidents. This great philosopher 
found that when a lamp is surrounded with a wire gauze, 
under -Jq of an inch mesh, any explosions taking place from 
the passage of fire-damp (light carburetted hydrogen) into 
the lump are not communicated to the gaseous mixture 
outside. The space within the gauze often becomes filled 
with flame, from the burning of the mixed gases which 
penetrate the network, but the isolation is so complete 
that the explosive mixture outside is not fired. 

The power of wire-gauze to prevent the passage of flame 
may be usefully applied in the foundry. Let a wire-gauze 
be placed over the outlet or vent from beneath a hollow 
core where, when the mould has been cast, just such gases 
generate; the smoke and unburned gases will pass unin- 
terruptedly through the gauze into the atmosphere, and 
may be ignited with safety, as no flame can possibly reach 
the dangerous gases below (to cause explosion) as long as 
the intervening gauze is there to prevent it. See Venting. 

Saggers. — Cast-iron boxes in which articles of cast 
iron are packed, along with red-hematite ore, or smithy 
scales, to be converted into malleable cast iron by a process 
of decarbonization in the annealing-furnace. See Malle- 
able Cast Iron. 

Sagging. — If, on account of unequal distribution of 
the means employed for lifting flasks, etc., in the foundry, 
some portion of the suspended object should bend out of 
parallel, this term would, by moulders, be used to indicate 
that feature. Or, when some mould surface, as a cope-face, 
etc., betrays a disposition to separate from the main sand 
structure on account of faulty workmanship, or otherwise, 
it is then said to sag. 

Salamander. — When, through faulty charging, bad 



Salt. 367 Salt cake. 

fuel, too heavy burdens of refnictory ores, or from any 
fault in the shape of the blast-furnace a scaffold should take 
place, it sometimes occurs that an accumulation of cinder 
and cold metal is formed, which proves highly refractory, 
and extremely difficult to remove. This obstruction is 
teclinically termed a salamander. In some extreme cases, 
when all other means used for their removal has been 
obstinately resisted, dynamite has been successfully em- 
ployed for that purpose. See Scaffold. 

Salt. — Common salt, or the chloride of sodium, is found 
in many parts of the world in solid beds. Sea-water con- 
tains about 4 ounces of salt in every gallon. The springs 
of New York State furnish an enormous annual supply. 
Rock-salt is seldom pure enough for use, and where no 
natural brine-springs exist, an artificial one is formed by 
sinking a shaft into the rock-salt and introducing water, 
if necessary. This, when saturated, is pumped up and 
evaporated more or less rapidly in large iron pans. Besides 
its use for preserving meats, by absorbing water from the 
flesh, it is used as a source of sodium in the manufacture 
of caustic soda, and as a source of chlorine in the produc- 
tion of chlorohydric acid. It fuses at a red heat, and is 
hence used for glazing stoneware, earthenware, etc. This 
property renders sea-water unfit for foundry purposes. See 
Sea-water. 

Salt-cake is the sulphate of soda as prepared for the 
manufacture of soap and glass. TUis compound is of great 
value as a flux for smelting valuable metals. By using a 
little on the surface of the metal in the crucible, the scum 
and dirt readily unite with the salt-cake, and the*appear- 
ance of the metal is much improved. See Flux. 

Saltpetre.— See Nitre. 



Sand. 368 Sand-blast. 

Sand. — Fine particles of stone or mineral. The finely 
granulated particles of siliceous stones constitute the beach 
and river sand, which, when dry, are without cohesion. 
The various sands are made through the agency of winds, 
water, decomposition by chemical action, and other agencies. 
See Facin^g-sand. 

Sand-bed. — The sand-bed of a cupola is the sand 
rammed on the bottom, on which the molten iron rests 
after it has been melted above and fallen down through 
the fuel thereon. The old or black sand oif the floor, tliat 
wliich has been slightly burned, is the best to use for this 
purpose; being free from clay, it does not bake hard, and 
by using it a little drier than ordinary moulding-sand it 
may be rammed well down to a solid bed without fear of 
danger from blowing or boiling— a too frequent occurrence 
when the sand used for this purpose is close and too 
damp. Tlie thickness of the sand-bed may always be in- 
creased when it is desired to reduce the depth from the 
tuyeres down, but there should never be less than 2^ inches 
over the bottom plate. A slight down grade towards the 
tapping-hole is necessary to run all the iron off, but avoid 
too much slope, as it increases the pressure at the tapping- 
liole, making it more difficult to insert the bott. See 
Cupola; Spout; Bkeast-hole; Bott. 

Sand-Mast. — The process of engraving, cleaning, 
boring, and cutting glass, metals, and other substances by 
forcing or blowing sand, emery, powdered quartz, granules 
of iron, etc., upon the surface by means of steam-pressnre 
or air-blast. Corundum 1| inches thick has been pierced 
by a jet issuing at 300 pounds pressure. It is also used for 
cleaning castings, graining of zinc-plate, cutting letters on 
stone and glass, frosting silverware, and many other simi- 
lar purposes. 



Sand-dusters. 369 Sandstone. 

Sand-dusters. — Flat, round vessels of block-tin, 
with fine perforations on one of the flat sides. They are 
used largely among hardware and stove founders for dust- 
ing the joints with parting-sand, instead of using the hand 
for that purpose. See Partikg; Parting-sakd. 

Sand-floor is that part of the foundry floor usually 
devoted to the production of castings in green sand, many 
of which are moulded in the sand-floor itself, and termed 
*' sand-floor," to distinguish it from the dry-sand and loam- 
work floors. See Floor-mouldikg; Black Sand. 

Sand-mould. — A mould constructed in the sand, 
either in the floor or contained within flasks. In this in- 
stance it may be either a dry-sand or green-sand mould, 
the term *^ sand-mould" simply distinguishing it from one 
constructed by the processes of loam-moulding. See Loam- 
mouldin^g; Green-sand Moulding ; Floor-moulding; 
Dry-sand Moulding. 

Sand Odd-part.— See Match-part. 

Sand-pulverizer. — Any machine that will crush 
lumps and grind the particles of sand together, and thus 
produce a thorough blending of the materials employed for 
producing sand and loam mixtures in the foundry. The 
ordinary loam-mill and crusher may be classed as such; but 
for the purpose of mixing and sifting the finer grades of 
sand there are other excellent contrivances, with which, by 
means of a grinding-plate and vertical yielding bed set in 
below the hopper, the sand is pulverized and mixed, and 
finally delivered into a horizontal revolving screen to be 
sifted. See Kock-crusher; Loam-mill; Sand Screen. 

Sandstone is a rock composed of siliceous or calcare- 
ous grains of sand cemented together by siliceous, calcareous. 



Sand-washing. 370 Sand-screen. 

or ferruginous infiltrations, though the loose sand solidi- 
fies by pressure alone. The sand grains are invariably 
composed of quartz with a slight admixture of other min- 
erals, which gives rise to the variations in color. Some of 
these sandstones, owing to the highly refractory nature of 
their composition, are occasionally employed as hearths of 
blast-furnaces, also for the beds of air-furnaces ; but the 
want of homogeneity in the stone makes them liable to 
crack, and for this reason other refractory materials are 
generally preferred. See Rock-sand; Faci^^g-saii^d. 

Sand-wasliiiig. — The process of washing sand, in 
order to free it from deleterious matter, and thus render 
it more suitable for moulding purposes, may be materially 
facilitated by rotating a cylindrical wire-sieve within a 
shallow trough, which receives a constant supply of water 
at one end and discharges it at the other, along with the 
soluble matter which has passed through the sieve. See 

OORE-SAND. 

Sancl-Screeii. — The ordinary sand-screen in the 
foundry is similar to the one used for coal and for the sand 
used by builders, etc. The regular sizes used for bi'ickwork 
and plastering is 3- or 4-mesh, for fine sand 5-mesh, for 
gravel 2-mesh. These frames measure 6 feet high, 26 1 
inches in width. The sizes most used are ^-inch openings 
for taking out the dust; f-inch for chestnut coal; J to i- 
inch for nut; f to |-inch for stove; -J, 1, and l^-inch for 
cleaning soft coal. These screens are made with a heavy 
hard-wood frame, and of extra heavy crimped wire. The 
frame is securely fastened together with bolts, and the 
wires are firmly stapled to the frame, and finished at the top 
and bottom with sheet iron. The revolving screen consists 
of a grating of wire cloth secured to a framework of iron, 
forming a cylindrical riddle or sieve, into which the sand 



Sand-sifters 371 Satin-spar. 

is thrown at one end. A slight incline causes what is too 
large to run through the meshes to pass out at the other end 
as the cylinder rotates horizontally on its axis. 

Sand Sifters. — The common kinds of sand-sifters 
are made to operate by either hand or power, and usually 
consist of a stout oblong frame supported on four legs, in- 
side of which the sieve or riddle is caused to move rapidly 
back and forth by a mechanical device attached to the end of 
the frame. Some makers claim six movements of the sieve 
to each revolution of the driving-wheel or pulley; the object 
in this being to prevent clogging by imparting a constant 
jarring motion to the sifter. Other sifters are suspended 
from beams above, and an oscillating motion imparted to 
them by a three-toothed cam-pinion, the teeth of which 
thrust (alternately) ; pins in the slotted piece attached to 
the bar which actuates the sifter, and a rapid back-and- 
forth movement is imparted thereto. See Riddle. 

Sapphire. — A precious stone, almost equal to the 
diamond in hardness. It is highly transparent and brilliant, 
and consists of nearly pure alumina or clay, with a minute 
portion of iron. AVhite sapphire resembles the diamond. 
Red sapphire is called the oriental ruby; blue being the 
common sapphire of the ancients, and yellow the oriental 
topaz. See Precious Ston'es. 

Sardonyx. — A very beautiful and rare variety of 
onyx, composed of alternate layers of sard and white chal- 
cedony, used by the ancients for cameo engravings. See 
Precious Stoxes. 

Satin-Spar. — A white fibrous limestone, which ex- 
hibits, when polished, a lustre like satin. It is found in 
England and Scotland. See Limestone. 



Saturation. 372 Scaffolding. 

Saturation. — A liquid is said to be saturated when it 
has taken up as large a quantity of a solid as it can dissolve, 
in which case the force of cohesion between the particles of 
the solid is equalled by the adhesion of the liquid and the 
solid to each other. Saturation means also the absorption 
of liquids by solids, the permeation of an element by other 
elements, etc. See Solubility. 



Scabbed Castings are castings on the surface of 
which rough and unsightly excrescences are found when 
the adhering sand has been removed. These imperfections 
arise from a variety of causes : such as iin perfect venting; 
faults in the ramming; unsuitable material; too much coal; 
extreme moisture, and numerous other causes, all of which, 
in the great majority of instances, might be easily avoided 
if the intelligence of those engaged in their production was 
equal to the demands made on it. The moulders of to-day 
are deficient from both an intellectual and artistic point of 
view, and no substantial improvement in the quality of 
castings may be anticipated until a more rigorous system 
of apprenticeship and superior technical training shall have 
been adopted. This and this only will amplify the minds 
of our young men and enable them to intelligently trace 
cause and effect, and thus avoid the errors which, owing to 
their present ignorance, are now so frequent. See Tech- 
nical Education for the Moulder; Facing-sand; 
Venting; Eamming; Cutting; Current. 

Scaffold.— See Charging-platform. 

Scaffolding is the formation of highly refractory 
masses of scoria and iron upon the cupola or blast-furnace 
walls, which interfere to a remarkable extent with their 
free working. These obstructions may be caused by the 



Scaling-furnace. 373 Scotch Pig Iron. 

accumulation of refractory slag; from the use of soft fuel 
that is crushed by the superincumbent charges; uneven 
distribution of the chai-ges; inferior fuel; too heavy bur- 
dens ; etc. Most of the conditions enumerated act by 
obstructing the blast, and thus interfering with a free 
ascent of the gases ; the furnace loses heat, and the slag 
coagulates and favors the formation of scaffolds. In the 
ordinary cupola a scaffold may be removed by the intro- 
duction of finely divided fuel at the tuyeres, which are di- 
rectly underneath the offending mass, reducing the blast 
somewhat until the obstruction begins to yield ; and it is 
sometimes possible to loosen them off by means of a long 
bar from the charging-hole ; but in the case of blast-fur- 
naces more drastic measures must be employed. See 
Charging; Ratio of Fuel to Iro:n^; Salamander-. 

Scaling-furnace, as its name implies, is the fur- 
nace in which plates have the scales removed by the appli- 
cation of heat. 

Scoria. — The cinder and slag rejected after the reduc- 
tion of metallic ores, or the superfluous matter of metals in 
fusion. See Slag. 

Scotch Pig Iron is a brand of iron that in the past 
has been highly esteemed by founders almost everywhere 
for its softness and fluidity, as well as for the particular 
quality of retaining its heat when melted for a much 
longer time than most other irons. This remarkable iron 
is made from ores and coal eminently adapted to the pro- 
duction of No. 1 irons. The particular quality of fluidity 
which it possesses is owing to the presence of a large pro- 
portion of phosphorus ; but many of these brands are high 
in both manganese and combined carbon, which renders 
their use for strong castings that have to be tooled very 



Scrap metal. 



374 



Screw-jack. 



undesirable. Wlien these irons have been low in the latter- 
mentioned elements and correspondingly high in silicon 
and graphitic carbon, they have been unquestionably suc- 
cessful as softeners; but the following comparison of a 
cheap No. 2 American with a high-grade Scotch iron will 
show that our domestic brands are far superior as softeners 
— a fact that is becoming more widely known by foundry- 
men, as the decreased imports testify. This shows the 





Silicon. 


Phos- 
phorus. 


Manga- 
nese. 


Sulphur. 


Graphite. 


Com. 
Carbon. 


American No. 2. 


3.81 


.49 


.15 


.04 


3.26 


.04 


Scotch No, 1. 


1.70 


1.10 


1.83 


.01 


3.50 


.40 



softening element, 5^7^coM, to be much higher in the Ameri- 
can brand — while phosphorus, manganese, and combined 
carbon, all hardening, are almost absent by comparison 
with the Scotch. See Softeners; Silicon. 

Scrap-metal, — Fragments of cast-metal to be re- 
melted, or of malleable iron. The latter, when reworked 
in the forge by piling, heating, and rolling, is sometimes 
converted into the strongest iron by reason of the twisted 
fibre imparted to the forgings. Cast-iron scrap of good 
quality forms a good corrective in all mixtures when the 
resultant casting made from the pig iron in stock would 
be too soft and graphitic. See Mixing Cast Iron; Bugs; 
Silicon; Softeners. 

Screen. — See Sand-screen. 



Screw-jack, or jack-screw, is a lifting-machine in 
which the power consists of a strong screw, which is made 
to rotate by means of a large nut which rests upon a base 
or pedestal. It is raised or lowered by turning the nut. 



Screw-moulding. 375 Screw Propellers. 

Screw-niovilcling. — Cast-iron screws for conveyors 
and elevators are made in greensand by screwing a section 
of screw through the entire flask; first bedding the shaft 
with section attached in the lower flask, making joint half- 
way and rammiDg thereon the cope, which, when the pat- 
tern has been screwed out endwise, may if necessary be 
separated for finishing. 

Screw-plates .—See Eappin-g-plate. 

Screw Propellers. — A screw propeller is a similar 
construction to the common screw, except that the thread 
enlarges to a plate as the cylinder diminishes to a spindle. 
It acts much as a bolt in a fixed nut. Wlien placed under 
the ship and revolved, the screw advances, pushing the 
ship, and the water is thrust backwards. John Stevens, of 
Hoboken, employed a screw propeller in 1804. In 1836 
patents were granted to Capt. J. Ericsson, United States of 
America, and Francis P. Smith, England, which resulted in 
their final adoption as a regular mode of propulsion for 
steamships. Propellers are cast from bronze, steel, and cast 
iron — some whole and others with boss and blades as sep- 
arate castings. The latter may very readily be all made in 
greensand. Large numbers of small wheels are made from 
entire patterns in greensand. An improved method of 
moulding small wheels in greensand from one blade and 
an equal section of hub secured to a nowel-frame of wood, 
cut to the shape of the joint, allows of the pattern being 
rammed therein, the joint made, and an impression of the 
upper side being taken in a close-fitting cope, also of wood. 
This whole process, being performed upon a lifting-plate 
that stands within the nowel-frame, permits the blade- 
moulds when placed together to be arranged in their respec- 
tive positions upon a level bed, and all rammed with a 
containing flask or curb. The covering-plate, weights, and 



Scruple. 376 Sculpture 

runners complete the operation. Larger wlieels are made 
in dry-sand from one-blade pattern with hub attached, the 
latter being made to fit a central spindle that rests on a 
foundation-plate on which as many nowels are fixed as 
there are blades to the wheel. The copes, being separate 
ones, are rammed in succession over the pattern, as the 
lower surface of the blades are alternately formed in each 
nowel. When all the blades have been moulded by this 
means, the whole mould is finished, blackened, and dried 
for casting. When small and medium-sized wheels are 
made in loam, the whole of the blades are formed upon 
one foundation-plate ; very large ones have a separate 
foundation-plate for each blade. An outer swept-bearing, 
just beyond the brickwork of the blades, serves as a rest for 
the inclined plane on which the sweep-board, attached to 
the free arms of the spindle, must be made to travel, and 
which gives the pitch of the wheel. Bottom and top sur- 
faces of the blade are struck with this board, which is set 
at right angles with the spindle, a tapered thickness or 
guide-piece being attached when the blades are made face 
up. If the blades are to be cast face up, the moulds are 
carved out of the loam; if face down, then some pattern 
device is schemed, in order to give the cope impression. 
The piers or nowels are built of bricks and loam; but the 
copes are carried off in iron frames, so constructed that a 
good loam impression of the blade along with that portion 
of the hub may be lifted away, to be again returned when 
the whole mould has been dried, and all is ready for bind- 
ing and ramming together in the pit. 

Scruple. — The scruple is the 288th of a troy pound ; 
the 24th of an ounce ; the third part of a drachm, and 
contains 20 troy grains. 

Sculpture is an art in which, by means of taking away 



Sealing-wax Impressions. 377 Sea water. 

or adding to matter, all sorts of figures are formed either 
in clay, wood, wax, stone, or metal. The art of sculpture, 
in its most extensive sense, comprehends not only carving 
in wood, stone, or marble, but all enchasing, engraving in 
all its kinds and casting in bronze, lead, wax, plaster, as 
well as modelling in clay, wax, or stucco. See Statuary- 
founding; Plaster Oast; Modelling; Stucco. 

Sealing-wax Impressions. — Sealing-wax is a 
very handy and useful substance for obtaining any particu- 
lar impression to be afterwards inclosed within or attached 
to a pattern for moulding in sand. The wax must be of 
good quality and melted in a metal vessel over a lamp, 
after which the pattern can be pressed down upon the wax 
just before it congeals, and a beautiful impi-ession will 
result if the pattern is thoroughly clean. Sealing-wax im- 
pressions make good moulds for plaster. 

Sea-coal Facing-.— See Coal-dust. 

Sea-water is water impregnated with salt in solution. 
It is generally composed of chloride of sodium 2.50, chloride 
of magnesium 0.35, sulphate of magnesia 0.58, carbonate of 
lime and carbonate of magnesia 0.02, sulphate of lime 0.01, 
water 96.54. 

It will be seen from the above why sea- water is utterly 
unfit for foundry purposes, as, in the subsequent process of 
evaporation, the chloride of sodium or common salt is de- 
posited in innumerable crystals among the sand; and this 
deposit being volatile at furnace heat must flow as a slag 
immediately it is brought in contact with the molten metal. 
This explains why, where sea-water is employed, castings 
invariably show dull gray deposits on the surface, which 
utterly destroy all beauty of finish, and render them 
unfit for any but the commonest purposes. The slag pro- 



Seating. 378 Separating-macliine. 

duced is also a source of annoyance when the castings must 
be tooled. See Salt; Daubing. 

Seating". — A guide-bearing or rest for cores or mould 
sections. In vertical loam-work the cope or the core, and 
sometimes both, are made as separate portions of the mould, 
and must be lowered into their respective positions when 
the mould is closed together in the pit. In order that this 
may be done accurately, a tapered seating is formed at the 
bottom of the mould, extending some few inches below the 
casting. By this device the smallest end of the core is 
made to enter at the widest diameter of the seating, and is 
thus guided to the bottom-bearing, when the sides meet 
close together at a true centre. The cope is the opposite 
to this, its widest diameter seeking a true location by in- 
closing the small end of the seating first, and gradually em- 
bracing it closer and closer until the bottom-bearing is 
reached, when the diameters correspond and the section is 
central. The tapered sides of an ordinary core-print rep- 
resent the seating for a core. See Cope-king; Print; 
Guide. 

Semilor. — A cheap imitation of gold, used for common 
articles of jewelry. The composition varies from 2 to 5 
copper, and 1 zinc. See Gold; Tombac 

Semi-steel. — See Puddled Steel. 

Separating-inachiiie (Woodruff's) is an in- 
genious combination of vibrating screen and fan for extract- 
ing shot and other small iron from foundry refuse. It 
occupies ground space about four by eight feet; requires 
about one and a half to two horse-power to drive it; can 
be set up anywhere, in doors or out, under shed, where 
power can be had. 



Separating Metals. 379 Separating Metals. 

A barrowful of refuse will pass through the separator in 
three or four minutes, all the iron being deposited in box 
provided for it, and all other materials thrown to rear of 
machine. 

Separating Metals from tlieir Alloys.— Tin 

may be separated from copper by digesting in nitric acid, 
which dissolves the copper — the tin remaining in an in- 
soluble peroxide. 

Copper is separated from lead by adding sulphuric acid 
to the nitric solution and evaporating to dryness, when water 
digested on the residuum will dissolve out the sulphate of 
copper, leaving the sulphate of lead behind. From this 
solution the oxide of copper may be precipitated by pure 
potassa. The precipitation of copper in the metallic state 
is obtained by immersing polished steel into the solution. 

Copper is separated from zinc by sulpuretted hydrogen, 
which will throw down a sulplmret of copper, which may 
be dissolved in nitric acid and precipitated as before. 

Silver is separated from copper by first reducing the alloy 
to powder, and then digesting in a solution of chloride of 
zinc, which dissolves the co2:»per, leaving the silver un- 
changed. Or, mix sulphuric acid 1 part, nitric acid 1 part, 
water 1 part; boil the metal in the mixture till it is dis- 
solved, and add a little salt, which will cause the silver to 
subside. 

Copper is separated from its numerous alloys— as lead, 
tin, antimony, iron, bismuth, etc. — by melting the alloy, 
and fusing for about an hour with one part each of black 
oxide (copper scales) and bottle-glass to every ten parts of the 
alloy. The copper will fall to the bottom of the crucible; 
the other metals and impurities either volatilize or dissolve 
in the flux. 

If lead and tin are in solution, the lead may be precipi- 
tated by sulphuric acid, and the tin with sulphuretted 



Setting. 380 Shackle. 

hydrogen gas. In an alloy the lead will dissolve in nitric 
acid, leaving the tin as an oxide. 

Zinc and iron may be removed from plumber's solder by 
digesting the grain metal in diluted sulphuric acid. The 
acid first dissolves the zinc, then the iron, and all traces of 
these metals are removed by subsequent washing. 

Tin may be separated from Britannia and similar alloys 
by melting the metal and sprinkling sulphur over it; after 
which stir the metal in the crucible for a while, and the 
other metals will burn out, leaving the tin pure. 

Gold is separated from silver by melting the alloy and 
pouring from a height into a rotating vessel containing cold 
water. This granulates the alloy, which is then treated with 
nitric acid and heated. The product is nitrate of silver, 
which is reduced in the ordinary manner, and metallic gold 
as a black mud, which is washed and remelted. 

Setting. — This term is applied to metal as it passes 
from the fluid to the solid state. When the metal has 
concreted into a solid mass, it is termed "sef or "frozen," 
both of which terms are in the foundry synonyms for 
congelation. See Congelation; Freezing. 

Shackle.— A link with an open end, the extremities of 
which are forged to receive a pin or bolt, by which means 
a connection may be made with a chain; or it may be em- 
ployed to join two chains together. Some are made link- 
form, and others are made like a ring. Their chief use in 
the foundry is to handle heavy cores and flasks, for wliich 
reason the eyes should be always made large in order that 
strong pins or bolts may be inserted. If pins are used, 
one end should be jumped and the other keyed, to prevent 
slipping out. The nut answers this purpose when a bolt is 
used. 



Shakdo. 381 Shears. 

Shakdo is a Japanese bronze of great beauty, the 
composition of which consists of copper containing from 
one to ten per cent of gold. Its bluish-black color is pre- 
served by boiling the polished article in an artificial bronze 
solution composed of sulphate of copper, alum, and verdi- 
gris. See Bronze. 

Sliale is a hard, slaty clay composed chiefly of silica 
and alumina, but in some instances containing lime and 
oxide of iron. It forms in the coal-measures and often 
contains a quantity of bitumen: it is then known as 
bituminous shale, from which variety shale-oil is obtained 
by distillation. Shale has a slaty structure, generally 
grayish black in color, but red when iron is present. Slate- 
pencils are made from it, and when free from iron and 
lime it is ground up and used for making fire-bricks. See 
Bitumen. 

Shank. — A foundry-ladle for holding molten metal. 
It is distinguished from the hand and crane ladles by its 
mountings, which consist of an encircling wrought iron 
belt, to which is welded the single and double ends for 
carrying it away by hand. Shanks are made of both cast 
and wrought iron (the latter to be always preferred), 
and their capacity ranges from 100 to 400 2:)ounds. Small 
shanks arc managed by two men, the larger ones requiring 
from three to five men, according to the weight of metal 
carried away. They are sometimes made to hold a ton 
or more, but are then lifted in a bale by means of the 
crane, and these are neither as safe nor as handy as when 
suitable gearing is attached. See Ladle ; Hand-ladle ; 
Crane-ladle. 

Shears. — A machine used in forges and rolling-mills 
for cutting up puddle-bars into suitable lengths for piling, 



Shear-Steel. 382 Sheathing-metal. 

trimming tlie edges of sheets, plates, etc. Crocodile or 
alligator shears are generally some form of lever-shears 
consisting of a fixed bottom jaw or knife, to which at the 
root of the knife is attached the vibrating-arm or lever- 
jaw. A crank or excentric at the opposite end of the 
lever causes the upper jaw to open and shut after the 
manner of an alligator^s mouth; hence the name. The 
plate - shearing machine is made with diagonal -edged 
knives of considerable length; the bottom one is fixed, and 
the upper has a vertical motion within parallel guides. 
These are emplo3^ed for sheet and plate work. Guillotine- 
shears are similar in design to plate-shears; but, as their 
use is for cutting up the hot steel ingots into lengths suit- 
able for subsequent operations in the mill, the knives are 
much shorter and the guides closer together, giving the 
machine an appearance of the instrument from which it 
derives its name. There are also numerous designs of 
combined shear and punch, both of which motions are 
derived from gear connection with the fly-wheel. Hydraulic 
shears may be of two forms: the stroke is either upward or 
downward, according to the position of the press. 

Shear-steel. — Shear-steel of commerce is classified 
as double and single shear steel. Owing to the imperfec- 
tions of blister-steel, it is not suitable for the manufacture 
of cutting instrument, as shears, knives, etc., until it has 
undergone the processes of cutting, piling, reheating, and 
welding together again under the hammer or by rolling. 
The resultant bar is shem'-steel; this, when cut up or 
doubled upon itself, reheated, and again hammered or 
rolled, is douUe-sliear steel. See Blister-steel. 

Slieatliing-metal is a metal or alloy which, when 
rolled into sheets, is employed for covering the bottoms of 
wooden ships to protect them from worms, etc. Muntz's 



Sheet Iron. 383 Sheet Lead. 

metal for this purpose is copper GO, zinc 40; but he states 
that any proportions between the extremes of copper 50, 
zinc 50, and copper 63, zinc 37, will roll and work at a red 
heat ; but copper 60, zinc 40 is always to be preferred. 
The cast ingots of this alloy are heated to about 200° 
and rolled into sheets, the same heat serving for work- 
ing this alloy into other shapes, as bolts, etc. Numer- 
ous other alloys are employed for this purpose, amongst 
which may be noticed: Mushet's — copper 100, zinc -J; Col- 
lins's red sheathing-metal — copper 8, zinc 1; Oollins's white 
metal— copper 1, zinc 16, tin 16; Pope's — lead 1, zinc 3, 
tin 2; all of which may be heated and worked as previously 
described. The nails used for fastening the slieathing are 
composed of an alloy of copper and tin. See Beass. 

Sheet Iron is rolled from the bloom direct, or from 
slabs and piles. It is brought to a welding heat and passed 
through the slabbing or roughing rolls, end and sidewise, 
according as it appears to require distention, until the 
mass has been reduced sufficiently for final rolling in the 
finishing-rolls where, being now brought by the previous 
operations to the required width, it is passed through 
entirely in the direction of its length. Gauges of the 
length, breadth, and width indicate when to discontinue 
rolling. The exact size is obtained by means of plate- 
shears. See Malleable iROi^. 

Sheet Lead. — One method of making sheet lead is to 
puffer the melted metal to run out of a box or vessel 
through a long horizontal slit, upon a table covered with 
sand, when the box is drawn over it, leaving the melted lead 
behind to congeal. These sheets may then be rolled to 
any desired thickness, and also made more uniform. A 
later improved method is to cast thick square blocks of 
lead, which are subsequently drawn into long sheets be- 



Shell-gold. 384 Shingling. 

tweeu two heavy rolls; the sheet in the meanwhile being 
supported npon a long table which travels on wooden 
rollers. Another method is to force the metal by hydraulic 
power through the annular space formed by an outer cylin- 
der and central core. This makes lead-pipe, which may 
be slit lengthwise and opened out into sheets. The Chinese 
pour melted lead upon a paper-protected flagstone, and 
press it down into a sheet by applying another similarly 
pre])ared stone above. See Lead. 

Sliell-gold. — The thin beaten gold used by decorators. 
See Gold. 

Sliell-lac.^ — A resinous exudation from the branches of 
several trees in the tropics. The crude lac is called stick- 
lac ; this is bruised, the fragments of wood removed, and 
the resin digested in weak carbonate-of-soda solution. 
The residue is the seed-lac of commerce, which when 
melted down becomes shell-lac. See Resik. 

Sliell-moulcliiig.— See Hollow Shot. 

Shells. — The shells of oysters, clams, etc., and of the 
eggs of birds, are composed almost wholly of carbonate 
of lime, cemented by a very small portion of animal gluten; 
while those of lobsters, crabs, etc., generally consist of only 
half carbonate of lime, the remainder being animal matter 
with a small proportion of phosphate. See Caebonates; 
Lime 

Sliiiigliiigr* — The process of detaching impurities, as 
cinder, etc., from the blooms of puddled iron by ham- 
mering or compressing the ball, and thus preparing it for 
immediate conversion into bar iron by rolling. See Mal- 
leable iROi^; Rotary Squeezer, 



Short-run. 385 Shrinkage. 

Short-run. — A foundry HiipoUation for a mould or 
casting which has been spoiled by being only partially 
filled with molten metal. See Run-up. 

Shot.— See Hollow Shot ; Lead-shot ; Projectiles. 

Shot-metal. — See Lead-shot. 

Shot-tower. — See Lead-shot. 

Shovel. — An instrument consisting of a flat or scooped 
blade and a handle; it is used for digging and throwing 
sand, earth, etc. Moulders' shovels are of two kinds — 
heavy and light, the former for digging, the latter being 
specially made to meet the requirements of stove-plate, 
bench, and other light- work moulding; but both classes 
of shovels should be made of the best cast steel, and well 
polished. The handsomer and better the tool, the greater 
will be the care exercised to j^reserve it, so that in the 
end the best is the cheapest. Besides this fine grade for 
moulders, there are plain black polished ones of a stronger 
make, adapted for rough use on the gangway and scrap- 
piles, which answer these purposes just as well as the 
best, and are much cheaper. Special shovels and scoops 
are made for coal; but for coke handling, especially round 
the cupola, the fork is to be always preferred. The square- 
bladed digging-tool is usually termed a spade. See Coke- 
fork. 

Shrinkage. — A contraction or shrinking of materials 
into a less compass as they change from a hot to a cold 
state. Some hard irons shrink or contract f of an inch in 
12 inches, while soft irons of choice grades will sometimes 
not exceed ■^-^. Medium grades of good quality generally 
shrink about y^ of an inch in 12 inches when used in heavy 



Shrinkage. 386 Shrinkage. 

castings; but in light castings the same brand will as a 
rule show J of an inch in 12 inches. Bronze shrinks about 
y\ of an inch in 12 inches. General brass work, accord- 
ing to mixture, will shrink from -f^ to i of an inch in 12 
inches. Copper shrinks -f^, tin about |, silver ^, lead -fj, 
zinc and bismuth each -fj of an inch in 12 inches. These 
can only be approximate measures of shrinkage; the exact 
amount which takes place in any particular casting must 
necessarily be determined by its general outline and bulk, 
and to some extent by the temperature of the metal used 
for casting with, dull metal always favoring the least con- 
traction. Very little if any shrinkage would seem to occur 
in heavy castings of limited compass, but what in this in- 
stance seems to be lack of shrinkage is in all probability to 
be attributed to distention of the mould under extreme 
pressure. The metal remaining fluid a longer time in this 
class of moulds than is ordinarily the case, gives ample 
opportunity for the pressure to act upon the mould surfaces 
to severely try them. Bottoms of cylinders and pipes 
would appear to shrink more than the tops ; but it is a 
mistake to say they do. The smaller diameter at that point 
is because the material of which the core is composed can- 
not eifectively resist the extra pressure to which the lower 
portions of all deep moulds are subjected. When 12 feet 
added to the depth will make a difference in pressure equal 
to about 37 pounds per square inch, it is plain that unless 
extraordinary measures are adopted to resist this added 
pressure, cylinders will always appear to shrink more at the 
bottom than top. The commonly accepted theory that 
castings shrink less vertically than in any other direction 
is undoubtedly wrong also, and similar reasons may be 
advanced to refute this as in the case above, especially when 
the upper flask or covering-plate is connected with a system 
of coring, the bottom surfaces of which extend a consider- 
able distance down. These extra strains, if not resisted 



Shutter. 387 Silica. 

absolutely both at the top and bottom, gives an increased 
length to tlie casting, which in many instances exceeds the 
legitimate shrinkage. Gear-wheel rims shrink less when 
the arms and hubs are cast on than when made as a 
separate casting, and it may always be expected that tlie 
heaviest wheels will shrink the least. The same may be 
said in reference to other classes of castings, which are 
composed of cross-ribs and plates internally; these will in- 
variably shrink less than open castings, such as plain 
frames, etc. 

Shrink-liead.— See Riser ; Feeding-head. 

Shutter. — The cast or wrought iron plate which, when 
suitably prepared with a loam daubing on both its sides, 
is set before the flow-hole inside the dam for the purpose 
of regulating the stream issuing from thence. A lever is 
usually employed to control it. Smaller shutters are em- 
ployed to check or turn the stream of metal issuing from 
the furnace to a mould direct. When the metal is allowed 
to collect in a large sand -basin before entering the mould, 
the shutter controls the stream. See Dams. 

Siemens - Martin - Steel. — See Opeit - hearth 
Steel; Regenerative Furnace. 

Sieve. — A fine riddle, usually made from brass wire, 
and used for mixing and separating the finer grades of 
sand, etc., in the foundry. See Riddles. 

Silex. — A generic name given to flint-stone, pure 
quartz, silica, and all minerals in which a large proportion 
of silica is present. See Silica. 

Silica.— One of the most abundant substances found 
in nature. Silica is the chief component of a number of 



Silica Bricks. 388 Silicon. 

precious stones, of rock-crystals, agates, porphyry, granite, 
flints, sandstone, and sand. AVhen perfectly pure it is a 
fine powder, very hard, and will wear away glass. When 
mixed with water it does not adhere, but falls to the bottom, 
leaving the water clear. It fuses in the oxyhydrogen 
blowpipe, and may be drawn into threads after the manner 
of glass. When silica is mixed with alkalies it melts at a 
lower temperature, and combines with them to form glass. 
The minerals, feldspar, mica, hornblende, serpentine, etc., 
which form the granitic and many other rocks are silicates 
of the alkalies and alkaline earths. Glass and pottery are 
compounds of silica with various metallic oxides. See 
Geai^ite. 

Silica BricliS are made by incorporating about 50 
pounds of lime-paste with a ton of crushed Dinas rock 
from the Swansea Valley. This rock contains about 97 
per cent of silica, and the bricks produced from it are 
employed chiefly for the roofs and all exposed parts of the 
open-hearth steel-melting furnaces, and other similar pur- 
poses wdiere the operations demand the most intense heat. 
See Open-hearth Oast Steel. 

Silicon. — This substance is the base of silex or silica, 
and is now supposed to be a non-metallic element. More 
or less of this element is present in all varieties of pig iron, 
but whether in chemical combination or otherwise it has 
not yet been satisfactorily determined. Silicon acts to 
change the combined carbon in cast-iron to graphitic car- 
bon. Describing the result of his experiments for ascer- 
taining the influence of silicon upon cast-iron, W. J. Keep 
says: "We have seen, however, that a white iron which will 
invariably give porous and brittle castings can be made 
solid and strong by the addition of silicon; that a further 
addition of silicon will turn the iron gray, and that as the 



Silicon Bronze. 389 Silicon Steel. 

grayness increases the iron will grow weaker ; that excessive 
silicon will again lighten the grain and cause a hard and 
brittle as well as a very weak iron ; that the only softening 
and shrinkage-lessening influence of silicon is exerted dur- 
ing the time when graphite is being produced, and that 
silicon of itself is not a softener, or a lessener of shrinkage, 
but through its influence on carbon, and only during a 
certain stage, it does produce these effects." 

To produce highly siliceous iron, or siliconeisen, in the 
blast-furnace the blast requires to be extremely hot, the 
furnace driven slowly, and the charges, while containing 
much silica, must be highly aluminous and not markedly 
calcareous. 

When 20 per cent of silicon is present in siliconeisen the 
amount of carbon in the alloy is very low. 

To prevent honeycombing in soft cast steel which con- 
tains very little carbon, an alloy containing 8 per cent sili- 
con, about 15 per cent manganese, and 1.3 per cent carbon 
is employed extensively in some steel manufactories. The 
presence of silicon along with manganese acts to diminish 
tlie formation of honeycomb in steel ingots. See Honey- 
combing; Softeners; Analysis. 

Silicon Bronze. — See Telegraph and Telephone 
Wire. 

Siliconeisen. — See Silicon. 

Silicon Steel. — This steel is made by adding some 
siliconeisen or specially prepared siliceous pig along witli 
the ordinary spiegeleisen or ferro-manganese which it is 
customary to mix with the molten metal, reducing the 
latter sufficient to admit the siliconeisen. The result is a 
steel containing from 0.2 to 0.3 per cent silicon, which is 
largely employed for steel castings. 



Silver. 390 Silver Alloys. 

Silver. — This metal is found native and in combina- 
tion with sulphur, as the sulphides of lead, antimony, and 
copper; native silver occurs in fibrous or crystalline masses. 
The metal is obtained from the sulphuret by mixing the 
crushed ore with salt and roasting it, by which means it is 
converted into a chloride which, together with water, iron 
scraps, and mercury, is revolved in a large barrel. By this 
process the chlorine is removed by the iron and the mer- 
cury amalgamates with the silver, from which it is subse- 
quently freed by distillation. Silver is freed from lead by 
melting the alloy and cooling slowly; the lead then solidi- 
fies in crystals, leaving the almost pure silver. The process 
of cupellation in shallow porous vessels made from bone- 
ashes gives a still greater degree of refining. Being melted 
with access of air, the lead oxidizes ; the oxide or litharge 
melts, and, being absorbed by the cupel, the silver is left 
pure. Silver is the whitest of all metals, of high metallic 
lustre, is very ductile and tenacious, may be hammered to 
the ten-thousandth of an inch thick, and one grain may be 
drawn into four hundred feet of wire. Polished, it is an 
excellent reflector of light, and it is a good conductor of 
heat and electricity. To give silver the requisite hardness 
for coin and silver-plate, it is usually alloyed with about 
one tenth of its weight of copper. The specific gravity of 
silver is 10.5, and it is harder than gold, but softer than 
copper. See Amalgamation^ ; Mercuky Metals. 

Silver Alloys. — For silver-plate and medals — silver 
05, copper 5. Silver solder for jewellers — silver 19 dwts., 
copper 1 dwt., brass 10 dwts. A hard silver solder is com- 
posed of silver 6, brass 2; the one most common, and which 
is softer than the last, has silver 4, brass 2. See Imitation" 
Silver; Mock Silver; German^-silver; Brass. 

Silver Imitations.— See Imitation Silver. 



Silvering. 391 Silvering, 

Silvering. — A silver-plating solution is made and 
applied as follows : Put together in a glass vessel 1 
oz. nitrate of silver, 2 oz. cyanuret potassa, 4 oz. pre- 
pared Spanish whiting, and 10 oz. pure rain-water. 
Cleanse the article to be plated by washing over with 
dilute nitric acid or potash-lye and prepared chalk, and 
apply with a soft brush. Finish with the chamois-skin or 
burnisher. 

Silvering luitli the Plating Poiocler. — Dissolve silver in 
nitric acid by the aid of heat; place some pieces of polished 
copper in the solution to precipitate the silver; wash the 
acid out in the usual way; then, with 15 grains of it mix 2 
drachms of tartar, 2 drachms of table-salt, and \ drachm of 
pulverized alum. Brighten the article to be plated with ley 
and prepared c^alk, and rub on the mixture. When it has 
assumed a whito appearance expose to heat, and then polish 
with the chamois or burnisher. Good for clock-dials and 
barometer scales. 

Silvering Metals, cold. — Mix 1 part of chloride of silver 
with 3 parts of pearl-ash, 1^ ^mrts common salt, and 1 part 
whiting. The article to be well cleaned, as before directed, 
and the mixture rubbed well on with a piece of cork 
moistened with water. When silvered wash the article in 
hot water, slightly alkalized; then wipe dry. 

Silvering hy Heat. — Dissolve 1 oz. silver in nitric acid ; add 
a small quantity of salt; then wash it and add salammoniac, 
or 6 ozs. of salt and white vitriol; also ^ oz. of corrosive 
sublimate; rub them together till they form a paste; rub 
the piece which is to be silvered with the paste; heat it till 
the silver runs, after which, dip it in weak vitriol pickle to 
clean it. 

Silvering Solution for Electro-plates. — Nitrate of silver 
2 drachms, distilled water 37 drachms. Dissolve, and add 
salammoniac 1 drachm, hydrophosphite of soda 4 drachms, 
precipitated chalk 4 drachms. Agitate the preparation 



Silver Powder. 392 Sinking-head. 

occasionally for 12 hours, whcu it will be ready for use. 
Apply with a fine sponge. 

Silvering Mirrors. — Silver, instead of mercury, is now 
much used for this purpose. The deposition is effected by 
pouring over the glass a mixture of alcohol, nitrate of silver, 
carbonate of ammonia, and ammonia, to which has been 
added a few drops of oil of cloves. A gentle heat is applied 
for two or three hours, when the surface becomes coated. 
The residue is poured off, the film of silver dried and var- 
nisl.el. 

Silvering Shells.— SilYeY-lesif and gum- water, a sufficient 
quantity; grind to a proper consistency, and cover the inside 
of the shells. For gold use the gold-leaf in the same man- 
ner. 

Silvering Glass Globes. — Lead 1 part, tin 1 part, bismuth 
1 part ; melt, and just before it sets add mercury 10 parts. 
Pour this into the globe and revolve rapidly. See Plating ; 
Mercury. 

Silver Lead.— See Graphite; Black Lead; Facing. 

Sil ver-pl atiiig. —Plating ; Silvering. 

Silver Powder. — Melt one part each of tin and bis- 
muth; then add one part mercury, just before it sets. When 
cold this is powdered and used by japanners. 

Silver Solder.— See Silver Alloys; Solders. 

Silver Steel. — Extra fine steel for the keenest cut- 
ting instruments. Some makers alloys this with an exceed- 
ingly small proportion of silver. 

Similor. — Gold-colored brass. See Semilor. 

Sinking-head. — So called because the molten metal 



Sister Chains. 393 Skeleton. 

falls or sinks out of it into the shrinking casting below. 
See Feedikg-head; Kisek. 

Sister Cliaius.-Two distinct pairs of foundry lifting- 
chains, having similar parts throughout, each one of which 
is an exact counterpart of the other — as, "sister buckle 
chains," sister sling chains," etc. 

Size. — A kind of soft glue made from skins, hoofs, 
membranous tissues, and other parts of animals, by boiling 
for some hours, then dissolving, straining, and again boiling 
to a jelly-like consistence. 

Gilder^s Gold Size. — Boiled linseed-oil thickened with 
yellow or calcined red ochre, ground smooth and thinned 
with oil of turpentine. 

Letters on Glass. — A size for this purpose is copal varnish 
one part, Canada balsam two parts. Another: pure mastic 
varnish, or pale, quick-drying copal varnish. 

Artist's Size. — Dissolve over the fire in a pint of water 
4 ounces of Flanders glue, 4 ounces of white soap; then 
add 2 ounces powdered alum. Stir the whole and leave to 
cool. 

Size to fasten Ruhher to Wood or Metal. — Soak pulverized 
gum-shellac in ten times its weight of ammonia; in three 
or four days a shiny mass is obtained, which will become 
liquid without the use of hot water. This softens the rub- 
ber, and becomes, after the volatilization of the ammonia, 
hard and impermeable to gases and fluids whenever it is 
used on rubber connected to the wood or the metal of 
steam or other apparatus. 

Slfeletoii. — A frame made by the pattern-maker 
from which, by the aid of outside and inside strickles, the 
loam-moulder constructs his mould without employing a 



Skeleton Core-iron. 394 Skim-gate. 

full pattern. A convenient and cheap device for the pro- 
duction of tanks, condensers, etc., that are rectangular in 
form. Also, for moulding cylindrical objects, as steam- 
cylinders, etc., in loam. A skeleton-frame for this purpose 
consists of bottom and top flanges, in the rough, connected 
by a few lags vertically, which serve to fasten thereon 
steam-chest, feet, exhaust-belt, brackets, etc., at once, and 
thus obviate all possibility of the errors which frequently 
occur when these attachments are built separately into the 
brickwork. The skeleton-flange rests on the swept seating 
or guide-bearing. After the cope has been built to a tem- 
plate the screws are taken out from the inside, skeleton- 
frame taken away, and the loam swept on the surface by 
means of the spindle and sweep-board. See Loam-mould- 
ikg; Seatin'G. 

Skeleton Core-iron.— A core-iron consisting of 
wrought or cast iron rods cast in one or more plates or 
rinffs. It is the most efficient and convei^ent core-iron 
that can be made for any description of belt or jacket- 
core having metal on all its sides. Owing to their cage- 
like appearance, they are frequently termed cage-irons. See 
Jacket-cores. 

Skim-gate is any arrangement of runner that will 
arrest the skim or slag at some part intermediate to the 
pouring-basin and casting. If two castings are poured to- 
gether in one flask, and one of the moulds filled by means 
of a fountain or horn runner connected with the bottom 
of that which receives the metal direct from the ladle, it is 
evident that all the dirt will remain in the latter, while 
the clean iron only will be forced into the former, thus 
making one casting a skim-gate to the other. Any inter- 
mediate receptacle, not necessarily a casting, may be thus 
employed to intercept the dirt; but by inserting a spherical 



Skimmer. - 395 Skin. 

object, us a ball, etc., for this purpose, and allowing tlie 
metal to enter it at a tangent to the circumference with 
force sufficient to impart a rapid rotary motion to the 
entering metal, the lighter scum is forced to the centre 
and there held until the casting or castings gated from 
the circumference of the ball are filled with clean metal. 
In order that this may be effective, the metal must enter 
the ball with force sufficient to keep it full, so that the 
castings may be fed from a point below where the dirt is 
held imprisoned. If a large quantity of metal must neces- 
sarily pass through a ball of limited size, a riser on the 
ball permits the accumulations to mount well above the 
ingates. See Gates; FouKTAiN^-KUNi^ER. 

Skiimiier. — A tool for preventing the dirt and slag 
from following the stream as the metal flows from the 
ladle-lip into the runner. They are simply of wood in 
some foundries; but generally they consist of a long piece 
of flat iron bent at one end, or a long light bar to which is 
welded a stronger piece of flat iron bent to fit the ladle-lip. 
The self-skimming ladle is intended to obviate the neces- 
sity for skimming. See Ladle; Lip. 

Skin. — The surface, either of a mould or casting, is 
designated as the skin by most foundrymen. The aim of 
a conscientious moulder is to produce castings exactly like 
the model or pattern, externally and internally; free from 
blown and shrunk holes, no cold-shuts, and to present a 
clean surface or skin — the last being to him the chief 
desideratum. To obtain the latter quality in the resultant 
casting many schemes are practised in order that the in- 
tensely hot and liquid metal may be prevented from pene- 
trating beyond the skin of the mould; the chief agent 
employed for this end being carbon, which is contained in 



Skinning-loam. 396 Slag 

some proportion in nearly all the facings made. See 
Facing; Facing-sand; Graphite. 

Skiiiniiig^-loam. — Fine loam or slip which, by means 
of the spindle or guide and the requisite strickles, gives the 
final shape to and constitutes the surface of swept moulds. 
See Loam; Roughing-up. 

Slack. — Fine coal or screenings. See Pressed Fuel. 

Slacked-lime.— See Lime-kiln. 

Slag. — Cupola slag is sometimes called ''scoria" or 
''cinder," and consists of the fused compounds of the silica 
and alumina in the lining, daubing, and dirt which are too 
frequently thrown in among the iron and fuel. Impure 
fuel also adds its quota to this readily fusible mass, in 
addition to that given off by the metal itself. If, on 
account of burnt or dirty iron being used, it be deemed 
necessary to employ limestone or anything else as a flux, 
the quantity of slag is augmented considerably, and means 
must be provided for conveying some portion of it away, 
otherwise it will prove a serious detriment to tlie effective 
action of the cupola, as at every rise of the metal in the 
bottom this superfluous slag is forced upwards among 
the fuel in the immediate vicinity of the tuyeres, where 
by the action of the blast it is converted into an im- 
penetrable mass, through which ultimately no air at all can 
be forced. Another evil attendant upon this over-abun- 
dance of slag is that it must inevitably make its appearance 
at the tap-hole on the instant of the issuing stream failing 
to completely fill the orifice, defiling ladles, and everything 
else it comes in contact with; making it necessary some- 
times to clear all away, and permit its being blown out at 
the tap-L )le into the pit below. 



Slag 397 

An effective remedy for this is to copy the tymp and 
dam stone of the smelting-furnace, and, like the smelters, 
allow this slag to flow away, while the molten iron is 
allowed to collect comparatively clean on the sand-bed 
below. 

By making a large tap-hole some distance below the 
tuyeres, at a convenient part back of the cupola, a spout 
may be attached for leading the liquid slag away. Tliis 
hole is to be prepared somewhat after the manner employed 
for the tap-hole, and kept securely plugged when not re- 
quired. When it is thought advisable to flow off superfluous 
slag, allow the molten iron to rise in the bottom until the 
slag makes its appearance at the hole, when the clay plug 
may be taken out, and it will at once issue forth. If this 
operation be conducted in a proper manner, and repeated 
from time to time, there need be no trouble from this 
source at the spout; and if due attention is paid to the 
tuyeres (see Tuyeres), the duration of a heat in the cupola 
may be prolonged indefinitely. 

When clean pig iron, of good ordinary quality, along with 
pure cast scraps, free from sand and rust, is melted with 
coal or coke comparatively free from impurities; and when 
the operation is conducted according to the best rules for 
practice, in a well-kept cupola supplied with blast at an 
adequate pressure for perfect combustion, and no more ; 
and allowing that the melting is not protracted beyond 
a reasonable time — there is really no need for a flux; 
and as, under the conditions stated, little or no slag would 
be likely to gather, it is plain that the need of slagging 
cupolas will only occur in proportion as such conditions fail 
of being met. See Cupola ; Charge ; Ratio of Fuel to 
Iron; Scrap; Bugs. 

Slag on the Surface of Castings.— See Facing- 
sand ; Sea-water. 



Slate. 398 Slicker. 

Slag-wool.— See Mineral Cotton. 

Slate. — A higlily metamorphosed clay rock, consisting 
ing essentially of clay. The particles are so mechanically 
arranged that it splits into plates that are independent of 
the layersof deposit, and are of a blue, green, gray, or black 
color. Its hardness prevents it from injury when exposed 
to the weather; it is therefore well adapted for roofs of 
houses, etc., and is in great demand for enamelling mantels 
and other objects, being by this means made to imitate 
the most expensive marbles at slight cost. Extensive 
quarries of this substance are worked in Cornwall, Wales, 
Ireland, and Scotland ; also in Vermont and other States in 
this country. 

Adhesive slate absorbs water readily, and is highly 
adhesive. Ahiminous slate yields alum. Bituminous slate 
is impregnated with bitumen. HornUende slate contains 
feldspar, and is used for flagging. Hones are made from 
slate, also pencils ; and the slate-clay which consists of silica 
and alumina is suitable for fire-brick. See Alum. 

Slicker — sometimes called "sleeker" and "smoother" 
— is a moulder's tool that usually has some special shape 
given to it on one side. The other side has a finger-piece 
or handle, by which means the slicker is worked upon the 
sand and made to impart smoothness and finish to the sur- 
face. These tools are of cast iron, brass, and steel, highly 
polished on the face side, and are known as corner, elboiu, 
pipe, button, flange, head, and vjeh slickers, etc. Consid- 
erable dexterity of hand and eye must be acquired before 
the moulder can use these tools creditably, and only 
the most skilled workmen should be allowed to use them 
indiscriminately. Inferior artists are apt to linger too long 
over the work, and their unpractised eye and lack of taste 
invariably end in producing lines that bear no resemblance 



Sling. 399 Smoothers. 

whatever to the original pattern; but on such parts as offer 
few difficulties tliey will smooth the surface with such 
frequency that the alumina in the sand is worked into a 
clayey skin on the surface, which, if it be not already loos- 
ened, will more than likely shrink and break away in scabs 
when the metal covers it. See Scabbed Castings. 

Sliiig^. — A foundry device for handling and conveying 
flasks and loam-moulds. The stirrup-sling reaches from bot- 
tom lugs of a foundation-plate to the binders, or cross for 
binding the mould together, and serves the purpose of lifting 
the moulds also. Beam-slings are also stirrup, except that 
the lower end is usually made to fit the trunnion of a flask; 
by this means copes are reversed by simply lifting with one 
sling at each end of the beam. Chain-slings have stirrups, 
and are joined in pairs generally to one ring. The link- 
sling is simply a long welded link, and may be round, oval, 
or square ended. Rope-slings, being flexible, are extremely 
useful in the foundry. See Beam-slings; Rope-slings. 

Slip. — A common name for skinning-loam. See Skin- 

NING-LOAM. 

Smelting. — Fusing or melting the ores of metals, 
along with suitable fluxes, in order to separate the metallic 
part from the earthy, stony, and other parts. See Reduc- 
tion OF Metals; Cast Iron; Metals; Ores. 

Smelting^ Cast Iron.— See Cast Iron; Ores; Re- 
duction of Metals. 

Smelting-fnrnace. — The smeltiug-furnace for iron 
is described at '' Cast Iron " (q.v.)- ^^^ ^^so Ores. 

Smoothers. — Moulders' tools. See Slicker. 



Snap flask. 400 Snap-moulding. 

Siitip-flask. — Besides the common snap-flask made 
at most foundries, there are some very excellent devices 
made for this purpose by the several patentees. One is an 
adjustable combination wood and metal snap-flask that can 
be adjusted to a variety of sizes. The wood parts of the 
flask are the pieces to which the hinge is attached, and also 
the parts to which the latch is fastened. The steel pieces 
are the inside lining. The wood and steel pieces are fas- 
tened together with bolts, and by means of a long slot the 
flask can be spread to the desired size. The wood is |-inch 
cherry, and the steel is |-inch. It is provided with a spring- 
latch, making it easy to open and close. Similar flasks are 
made all steel, having the same adjustment. Making them 
of the latter metal has suggested the round steel snap-flask, 
which is very light, and requires much less sand than the 
square one. For all who desire to manufacture their own 
snap-flasks, trimmings, including latches, hinges, and pins, 
can be had of infinite variety. Latches are made of mal- 
leable iron, with flat, oil-tempered steel spring. When the 
flask is closed the latch makes a solid locked corner, and it 
is so placed that by pulling latches together with finger and 
thumb of one hand, the flask opens freely. Hinges are 
made with the view of obviating any pinching of sand 
while closing. Any number of adjustable pins may also 
be had which can be perfectly fltted in a few moments. 
See Skap-mouldee. 

Snap-moulding is bench-moulding; but instead of 
using tiie customary iron or wood flasks, the moulder is 
provided with a "snap-flask," inside of which he rams all 
his moulds, carrying them to the floor, when completed, 
one by one, in order for casting. When the snap is removed 
a flat weight holds it down. A hole in the weight permits 
the metal to be run down the sprue and pouring all off, 
independent of the usual surrounding flask. If the sand 



Snug. 401 Soapstone. 

walls are not able to withstand the pressure exerted when 
the mould is poured, a light iron band answering to the 
form of the snap is rammed within it. By this method the 
moulds are sustained like any other flasked ones, the differ- 
ence being that the light iron bands are not pinned to- 
gether. See Snap-flask; Bench-moulder. 

Snug". — An attachment cast to or bolted on flasks. 
Two or more snugs meet at the joint of the flask; one set has 
pins, the other holes to receive them, constituting a guide. 
See Lugs. 

Soap. — The alkalies used for soap-making are potash 
and soda. They must be in a caustic state, and this is pro- 
duced by dissolving them and passing the solution through 
newly slacked lime, which takes away the carbonic acid. In 
this caustic lye the fats are boiled, their glycerine set free, 
and the soap formed in a state of solution in the water. 
The soap is obtained in the solid form by boiling this solu- 
tion until the soap ceases to be soluble and rises to the 
surface, when it is drawn off into moulds. Castile-soap 
is composed of olive-oil and soda; oxide of iron is the 
cause of its mottled appearance. See Oils; Pans; Soap- 
kettle. 

Soap-kettle. — Some of the kettles for this purpose 
are covered in and provided with a large bend-pipe to re- 
ceive the vapors. The watery matter is condensed, and 
drawn off at the bottom; the inflammable vapors are drawn 
under the fire. See Pans. 

Soapstone is steatite, and termed soapstone because 
of the smooth, greasy feel it has between the fingers. It is 
a hydrated silicate of magnesia — a massive variety of talc, 
which when pure and compact is highly refractory, and 



Socket pipe. 402 Sodium. 

suitable for furuace-linings and for the manufacture of 
fire-brick. Soapstone, ground very fine and mixed with 
carbon facings, makes an excellent material for coating the 
moulds of hollow ware and stove-plate castings, being espe- 
cially useful as a return-facing for printing with. See Ke- 
turn-facing; Printing. 

Socket-pipe. — A water or gas pipe with a bell and 
spigot at its respective ends. The bell receives the spigot 
end of another pipe, with some clearance for lead or other 
packing with which to make a tight joint. A depression 
in the bell holds the packing, and the collar on the end of 
the spigot prevents the latter from slipping out. See Cast- 
iron Pipes. 

Soda. — A compound of oxygen and a metallic basis 
called sodium. It was formerly called mineral alkali, as it 
is found in mineral seams and crusts, and in great abun- 
dance in certain lakes in Egypt being brought thither by 
the water which enters from the neighboring country 
during the overflow of the Nile, and precipitated by 
evaporation during the dry season. Barilla is impure 
soda obtained by burning plants near the sea. Kelp is 
obtained by burning seaweed. For the purposes of com- 
merce, soda is obtained from common salt. See Salt ; 
Sodium. 

Sodium. — This is a very widely diffused and abundant 
element. As cliloi'ide, it occurs in rock-salt, sea-water, 
salt-springs, and many mineral waters ; and as silicate, in 
many minerals. Metallic sodium was first discovered by 
Sir Humphry Davy. It is prepared in the same manner 
as potassium, requires the same measures for its preserva- 
tion, and exhibits properties similar to those of that metal. 
See Potassium ; Salt ; Soda ; Fluid Alloy, 



Soft-blast. 403 Softeners. 

Soft-blast. — The blast is termed "soft" when it is 
feeble and lacks force. A too low pressure of blast burns 
the fuel without melting at full duty, and below a certain 
amount of pressure the fuel would burn away, leaving the 
metal unmelted. See Blowek; Blast-pressure; Com- 
bustion. 

Soft-centre Steel. — Bar steel with a hard surface 
enclosing a tough centre core of mild or soft steel. This 
steel is used especially for making articles that, besides hav- 
ing a hard-tempered surface, must possess the strength of 
mild steel. The mild-steel ingot is cast, hammered down, 
and treated in the cementation-furnace until the surface 
has been carburized to the depth required, when it is again 
subjected to the process of rolling or hammering down to 
the size and shape of bar needed. See Cementation; 
Blister-steel. 

Softeners are a class of pig iron containing such soften- 
ing qualities as will destroy, or at least neutralize, opposite 
qualities existing in other irons ; or they may wholly con- 
sist of another metal to alloy with iron, as aluminum or 
aluminum ferro-silicons, etc. The softening elements in 
pig iron are graphitic carbon and silicon, while combined 
carbon, phosphorus, manganese, and sulphur may be classed 
as hardeners. It is an established fact that all pig irons 
low in the latter elements, and which are at the same time 
high as to the former, are recognized as softeners, because 
of the remarkable quality of silicon to change chemically 
combined carbon to graphitic carbon ; in other words, 
changing hard iron to soft, and enabling the founder to 
use up large quantities of inferior irons, at reduced cost, 
by the simple admixture of another iron that costs no more 
than any other ordinary brand ; and all this without any 
deteriorating effect on the resultant castings. See Scotch 
I'lG Iron; Silicon; Analysis. 



ce 

iC 
(S (C 



Soft Pig Iron. 404 Solder. 

Soft Pig Iron. — This iron is usually termed gray pig 
iro7i, to distiiiguish it from the hard irons, which are 
lighter in color, even to whiteness. A chemical analysis of 
a really soft pig iron should exhibit about the following 
percentages of constituent elements : 

Graphitic carbon 3.36 per cent. 

Silicon 2.78 '' " 

Phosphorus 0.40 " 

Manganese 0.40 *' 

Sulphur 0.01 

Combined carbon 0.20 '' '' 

Any addition over the quantities given, except for graphite 
and silicon, would tend to increase the hardness. See 
Gray Pig Iron; Softeners. 

Soft Solder. — One of the soldering alloys. See 
Solder. 

Solder. — Soldering is a process by which solid metallic 
substances are united by the intervention of a more fusible 
metal or solder, which, when placed between them and 
fused, unites the three parts into a solid mass; sometimes, 
however, the joining of two edges or surfaces may be ac- 
complished by fusing or melting with the same metal. 
Solders are made of gold, silver, copper, tin, lead, bismuth, 
etc.; usually observing that in the composition there shall 
be some of the metal that is to be soldered, mixed with 
some higher and finer metals. The coppersmith's hearts, 
standing off from the wall, is a convenient fire for hard- 
soldering or brazing. The brazier's hearth is usually an 
iron plate with fire-box underneath ; a convenient aperture 
in the plate allows the heat to play direct on the work as it 
rests on the table, the force being regulated by a fan-blast. 
For fine and complicated soldering, the blowpipe is best; 



Solder. 405 Solder. 

the wind for whicli is sometimes obtained mechanically, 
but more commonly by blowing with the mouth. Jewelry 
manufacturers employ a trough or shoot of circular form, 
through which a gas flame is urged by means of a pair of 
ordinary bellows. The common blowpipe in the workshop 
is the oxyhydrogen, so arranged that it may be used at any 
desired angle. 

Silver solder is usually employed for fine work in brass, 
iron, or steel, and the brazing is effected by laying tbin 
plates of the solder on the joints, which have been pre- 
viously moistened with borax and water. For gold and 
silver soldering, the borax is usually made into a creamy 
paste by rubbing with water and then painting over the 
parts to be joined. Solders of this class are often drawn 
into wire, but generally they are in tbin plates, so that 
pieces of an exact size may be cut and laid over the work 
to be soldered. 

Before soldering or brazing can be successfully done, 
the joining surfaces must be made absolutely clean and 
smooth, and a suitable flux employed in order that the 
metal or metals will unite to the solder at a low temperature. 
The flux for steel is, sal-ammoniac 1, borax 10 — these in- 
gredients to be powdered together, fused, and pulverized ; 
for iron, borax or sal-ammoniac ; tor pewter, olive-oil; for 
tin7ied iron, chloride of zinc or rosin; for lead and tin, 
rosin or sweet-oil; for copper and brass, chloride of zinc 
or sal-ammoniac ; for lead-piije, tallow or rosin ; for zinc, 
chloride of zinc ; for spelter -solder, borax. 

Owing to the greater affinity of copper for zinc than for 
tin, some difficulty is usually experienced when zinc is to 
be soldered with the copper-bit or soldering-iron. This 
metal seems to remove the tin coating from the copper-bit, 
causing much trouble sometimes; but this may be obviated 
by using the soldering fluid as a flux. The latter flux is 
an admirable one for nearly all other metals, and does not 



Soldei*. 406 Solder. 

necessitate that degree of cleanness so essential when other 
fluxes are employed. 

Soldering fluid is made by taking two ounces muriatic 
acid, add zinc till the bubbles cease to rise, then add one 
half-teaspoon ful sal-ammoniac and two ounces water. Ii'on 
and steel may be soldered by using this fluid flux without 
any previous tinning. 

Gold is the solder for platinum, with borax for a flux. 
See Gold-colder. 

A good solder for iron is good tough brass, with borax 
for the flux. See Brass. 

For the hammered-brass solder add a little chloride of 
potassium to the borax for a flux. 

Iron is soldered to steel or either to brass by applying 
in a molten state tin 3, copper 391, zinc 7^ parts. 

Cold-soldering (without fire) is done by using a mixture 
composed of bismuth ^ ounce, quicksilver i ounce, block- 
tin filings 1 ounce, muriatic acid 1 ounce. 

Cold-brazing (without fire): Brass-filings 2 ounces, steel- 
filings 2 ounces, fluoric acid ^ ounce. Place the filings in 
the acid and, when dissolved, apply the solution to tlie 
parts to be joined. Fluoric acid should be kept in lead or 
earthen vessels. 

Brass is readily soldei-ed, in some cases, by first using 
sal-ammoniac as a flux and then placing a piece of tin-foil 
between the pieces and applying the hot iron until it 
melts. 

German silver is soldered by first applying the soldering 
fin id as a flux and using pewter solder witli the blowpipe. 

When arsenic is mixed with solders it should be added 
at the last, taking care to avoid the fumes. 

When brass is employed as an ingredient it should be 
added after fusing the other metals, to avoid wasting the 
zinc. The following are the ingredients used for making 
solders in common use: 



Solids. 



407 



Solids. 



Pewter-solder 

Plumber's solder 

Spelter-solder, for brass. . . 

Tinman's " 

Pewterer's soft solder 

Zinc-solder 

Glazier's solder 

Black solder , 

White solder for raised Bri 
tannia-ware 

Hardening for Britannia 
ware 

Soft solder for Britannia- 
ware 

Yellow solder for brass or 
copper 

Yellow solder for brass or 
copper, easily fused 

Bismuth-solder 

Solder for brass, to be ham- 
mered 

Brass-solder 

" " white 

Solder for steel joints 

Gold-solder 

" fine 

Silver-solder, hard 

soft 

Jewellers' solder, hard — 
" " medium 

" " softer . . 

Hard solder 

Spelter-solder for copper 
or iron 



17.41 
27.99 



14. GO 



32 



6H 




)7.41 




1 


19 


3 


2 


2 


2 


1 


4 




2 


Sh 


16 


4 


15 


H 


14 







Solids. — Matter exists in three iorms— solid, liquid^ 
and gaseous. When the particles of a body cohere, as in 
ice, metals, etc., so that they cannot move among them- 
selves, it is said to be a solid. All solids, except clay, are 
expanded by heat, but not eqnall}'. (See Expansion.) 
Clay contracts in baking and ever afterwards remains so. 
Solids are melted by heat, and the process is termed lique- 
faction. A solid is firm and compact, and, unlike fluids, 
offers a sensible resistance to penetration and impression. 
See Fluids. 



Solid Shot. 408 Soot. 

Solid Shot.— See Hollow Shot. 

Solubility, or Solubleness, is the susceptibility of a 
body to being dissolved in a fluid. Solution is favored by 
whatever weakens cohesion. When the force of adhesion of 
tlie 2:)articles of a liquid for a solid exceeds the whole cohe- 
sive force of the latter, its cohesion is overcome and solution 
occurs, which means that the solid (""isappears and mixes 
uniformly with the liquid. See Saturation; Adhesion-. 

Soluble Glass. — This alkaline silicate, known as 
water-glass, liquid quartz, etc., was discovered by Prof. 
Fuchs of Munich, 1825. It has the property of solubility 
in water, and may while in that state be applied to glass 
painting, waterproofing materials, restoration of decaying 
stone buildings, and as a binding element in artificial 
stone. When the water has evaporated it leaves a hard, 
gelatinous, transparent glass, which is impervious to water 
or destructive atmospheric changes. Mixed with metallic 
oxides it is a good paint for frescos, and also for commoner 
purposes. The solution is obtained by fusing together 
pulverized quartz 15, potash 10, and pulverized charcoal 1. 
This mass when cold is crushed, and boiled for three houis 
in five times its weight of water, taking care to supply what 
is lost by evaporation. The result is a viscid mass, which 
must be preserved in well-stoppered vessels. The glass 
may be diluted to suit whatever purpose it is employed 
for. 

Solvent for G-old.— Mix equal parts of nitric and 
muriatic acids. See Gold ; Aqua Regia. 

Soot is formed by the fuel which escapes combustion, 
and is composed principally of particles of carbon from a 
coal or wood fire. The lighter particles of ash are also mixed 



Sour Beer. 409 Specific Gravity. 

with it, as well as hydrocarbons from nnhurnt hydrocarbon 
vapors, and some ammoniacal salts. The latter qualities are 
what makes soot valuable as a manure. See Carbon. 

Sour Beer. — This unpleasant wash was formerly in 
great demand for hardening cores and mould surfaces. See 
Beer; Core-wash. 

Sow. — The heavy pig iron which has served as a leading 
channel from the spout of the blast-furnace, and which 
serves the purpose of a runner to the pigs when the tap is 
made. The pigs are forcibly separated from it immediately 
the iron has solidified. See Cast Iron; Pig Iron. 

Spade.— See Shovel. 

Spanish Tvitaiiia.— If 8 ounces of iron or steel be 
melted with IG ounces of antimony and 3 ounces of nitre, 
by adding the latter ingredients in small pieces after the 
steel is white hot a hardening is made, of which 1 ounce is 
sufficient to harden 8 ounces of tin. See Tutania. 

Spathic Iron Ore is the purest variety of clay iron- 
stone in which the metal occurs as a ferrous carbonate. 
A considerable proportion of the pig iron produced in 
England is smelted from these ores, the inferior grades of 
which constitute the clay ironstone and blackband iron- 
stone of the coal-measures. See Ores. 

Specific Gravity. — A term used to express the 
comparative weight of different substances. The specific 
gravity of a substance is the weight of a given bulk of it 
compared with the weight of an equal bulk of some other 
substance taken as a standard. The standard employed is 
a fixed one, being distilled water at a temperature of GO 



Specific (Gravity. 410 Specific (xravity. 

degrees. Tlie weight of a cubic inch of silver is lOJ times 
as much as the same measure of water; accordingly, the 
specific gravity of water being 1, that of silver is 10 J. A 
cubic inch of cork weighs -f-^^^ as much as the same bulk of 
water; the specific gravity of cork, therefore, is -f^^ or .24. 
Mercury, water, and oil if thrown into a tumbler will arrange 
themselves in the order of tlieir specific gravities: the mer- 
cury at the bottom, being the heaviest; then the water; on 
top of this the oil, being the lightest. Gases, like liquids, 
differ in their specific gravit}^ Smoke ascends, being 
lighter then air. Hydrogen is so much ligliter than air 
that it will ascend with a loaded balloon. Contrary to 
this, because carbonic-acid gas is heavier than air, it remains 
at the bottom of wells, etc. 

A cubic inch of iron weighs 7^ times as much as a like 
bulk of water, and will therefore sink in the latter; but if 
hammered out into a vessel containing more than 7^ cubic 
inches, the same iron will float, simply because it is lighter 
than an equal bulk of water. A floating substance displaces 
its own weight of liquid; and a body immersed in water 
loses as much weight as the water it displaces weighs. 
The specific gravity of a liquid is easily obtained in the 
following manner: Fill a glass vessel, whose weight is 
known, with water to a certain mark, ami weigh it; sub- 
tract the weight of the vessel and you have the weight 
of the water alone. Then fill the vessel to the same height 
with the liquid in question, weigh it again, and subtract 
the weight of the vessel as before. To find its specific 
gravity divide its weight by that of the water. 

A simple way of finding the specific gravity of a 
solid would be to take a certain bulk, as a cubic inch or 
cubic foot, ascertain its weight, and divide it by a like bulk 
of water. There is difficulty, however, in obtaining any 
given bulk exactly, for which reason other methods are 
adopted. 



Specific Gravity. 411 Specific Gravity 

If the solid sinks in water, weigh it first in air and tlien 
in water by means of a balance provided for the purpose. 
Divide its weight in air by the weight it loses in water, and 
the quotient will be its specific gravity. This is exactly the 
same as dividing the weight of the solid by that of an equal 
bulk of water, for it has been shown that a solid weighed 
in a liquid loses as much weight as the liquid it displaces 
weighs. A piece of platinum weighs 22 grains in air and 
21 in water. If we divide 22 (its weight in air) by 1 (the 
loss of weight in water), we obtain 22 for the platinum's 
specific gravity. 

The specific gravity of a solid that floats on water is 
found by attaching something heavy enough to sink it. 
These are then weighed in air and in water, and the loss of 
weight in water found by subtraction, as before. In the 
same manner find how much weight the heavy body alone 
loses in water, and subtract this from the loss sustained by 
the two, which gives the weight of a volume of water equal 
to the body undei- examination. Divide the body's weight 
in air by this remainder, and the specific gravity is obtained. 

The specific gravity of gases is found by a simihir process 
to that for liquids. The standard is air. A glass flask with 
stop-cock is weighed when full of air, and again when the 
air lias been exhausted; the weight of the flask full of air 
is the difference between these weights. The fljisk is now 
filled with the gas in question, and again weighed; this 
weight, less that of the exhausted flask, is the weight of a 
flask full of the gas. Divide the weight of the gas by that 
of the air, and the quotient is the specific gi-avity required. 

If the specific gravity of a ])0(ly is known, it is easy to 
discover how much any given bulk of it weighs. A cubic 
foot of water weighs 1000 ounces, or G21 pounds. The 
weight of a cubic foot of any given substance will therefore 
be equal to 62^ pounds multiplied by its specific gravity; as 
follows: What is the weight of a cubic foot of silver? The 



Specific-gravity Balance. 41S Speculum Metals. 

specific gravity of silver is 10.474. This multiplied into 
62.5 gives 653.478 pounds, — the weight required. See 
Hydrostatic Balance; Weight of Metals. 

Specific-gravity Balance. — An instrument for 
finding the specific gravity of substances. The hydrometer 
or areometer is used for finding the specific gravity of 
fluids. Many kinds of these instruments are employed for 
this purpose, but they are all dependent on the principle 
that the weights required to immerse a light bulb of glass 
in different fluids are in proportion to the density of such 
fluids. See Specific Gravity; Hydrostatic Balance. 

Specular Iron. — Specular oxide of iron occurs crys- 
tallized in a great variety of forms. Some of these crystals 
have a polish like burnished steel; others are tarnished and 
appear of a red, blue, or yellow color. The most beautiful 
specimens come from Elba, where this iron is said to have 
been worked for three thousand years. Its composition is 
iron 69, oxygen 31. 

Speculum Metals are alloys of exceeding brittle- 
ness and hardness, and so brilliant when polished truly as 
to be used for the mirror-surface of i'eflectii!g telescopes. 
It is therefore called speculum metal. The quality of 
these alloys greatly deteriorates by a slight deviation to 
either side of the true atomic proportions. Their extreme 
brittleness necessitates great care in cooling castings made 
from them, so that nothing shall interfere to prevent all 
the parts cooling proportionately. Slow cooling in hot 
ashes acts beneficially by annealing the metal. As arsenic 
enters into the most of these mixtures, it is important 
that a good fiux be employed to cause a perfect union 
with the other metals. One part nitre and two of tartar 
is a suitable flux for this purpose. The arsenic should 



Spelter. 



413 



Spider. 



be broken in fragments and tied in strong paper ; it may 

then be secured in the tongs and thrust under the surface 
— after which stir well and avoid the fumes. The follow- 
ing is a table of speculum alloys: 

SPECULUM ALLOYS. 



Hard, white 

'* " better 

" " highly lustrous 

<( (( ^( (< 

Steel, hard 

Common 

Lord Rosse's 

Sir I. Newtou's (yellow) . . 

White (antimony mix.) 

" (withzidcj 





















>» 




















u 




Q 




o 


> 


O 


.2 


a 


6 


a 

I 


m 


O 


H 


< 


N 


<! 


32 


15 






2 


1 


33 


15 






1 




33 


16 5 






1.25 


1 


32 

1 

2 

126.8 


15 

1 

1 

58.9 










6 


2 






1 




7 


1 


1 








7 


4 




3 





— See Rosse's Telescope; Brass Mirrors. 

Spelter. — The plates of manufactured zinc are called 
spelter in commerce. Spelter solder is made from equal 
parts of zinc and copper; this is for ordinary use on brass. 
A little harder, for copper and iron, is zinc 3, copper 4. 
See Solders; Zinc. 

Sphere. — A solid contained under one uniform round 
surface, such as would be formed by revolving a circle 
about a diameter thereof as an axis. Every point on the 
surface of a sphere is equally distant from its centre. 



Spider, or tripod, is an end attachment for a core- 
barrel, to be used when the core must be suspended within 
the mould by means of bearings at the top — as in guns and 



Spiegeleisen. 414 Spill-trough. 

hydraulic cylinde-rs. It consists of a cential vertical bush, 
with three arms extending horizontally, on the ends of 
which are vertical standards which constitute as many legs 
or feet, which must rest on the outer mould or cope. The 
central bush encircles the barrel, and is connected with the 
latter by means of three lugs, which are cast on the barrel, 
the holes in which correspond to three other holes in the 
spider. See Okdnan^ce. 

Spiegeleisen. — A name now generally given to the 
varieties of pig iron, containing from 10 to 20 per cent of 
manganese. When the percentage exceeds that amount 
it is called ferro- manganese. See Ferro- manganese; 

Manganese. 

Spilie. — A sharpened instrument of iron, used in some 
foundries for drawing patterns out of the sand. On the 
whole, they are a very unsatisfactory device; for, whether 
the pattern is drawn or not, it is certain to be damaged 
more or less in the operation. A hole bored for a wood- 
screw is less likely to split the pattern; but the rapping- 
plate and iron screw is more reliable, and should be adopted 
on all patterns when practicable. Heavy nails over 4j inches 
long are in the foundry usually designated as spike-nails or 
spikes. See Rapping-plate; Spring Pattern-lifter. 

Spill -trougli. — A shallow -dished trough of iron, 
about 2 feet wide and G feet long, supported about 10 
inches above the floor on four feet, against which the brass- 
moulder leans his small flasks on end for pouring with the 
crucible. The trough catches whatever may overflow at 
the gate or spill from the crucible; and, besides this, it 
serves as a general receptacle for every description of brass- 
scrap that is made. The contents are sifted from time to 
time and the scrap rem el ted, 



Spindle. 415 Spindle. 

Spindle. — A sliaft or mandrel with which to sweep 
circiilcir moulds in sand or loam. Spindles vary in diam- 
eter and length, according to the class of work they are 
used for. For sweeping ordinary work, the arm to which 
the sweep is secured is keyed, or otherwise made fast to 
tlie spindle, and the latter is made to revolve ; but when 
a vertical motion must be given simultaneously with the 
rotative, as in sweeping propeller blades, the arm must be 
free to slide up and down a fixed spindle. A fixed spindle 
may be made to answer for all ordinary work by securing a 
collar at the height desired, and allowing the arm to rest 
thereon as it revolves. When practicable it is always 
preferable in long spindles to have a dull point at the 
bottom end, working in the countersunk hole of an iron 
block that is sunk level with the floor, and the perpen- 
dicular maintained by a suitable arm extending from the 
wall. The method of making spindles with straight sockets 
and collars is a bad one, as they are sure to work loose 
ultimately. A much better mode is to turn a slight taper 
from 6 to 8 inches high, and cast this end in the block in 
which it must subsequently work — whether it be in a port- 
able tripod or gig, or even in the central portion of the 
carriage itself. A little oil and fine parting-sand will pro- 
tect the smooth iron of the spindle end when it is cast, and 
an absolute fit may be obtained subsequently by grinding 
the spindle in its own seat with oil and emery. Spindles 
over 1^ inches may be made of gas-piping, which, when 
once straightened in the lathe and taken good care of 
afterwards, are much easier to handle than solid ones, and 
just as good. The tripod spindle consists of a central hub 
with three plain arms, equally divided, radiating therefrom; 
the arms have slot-holes cast in them for bolting purposes. 
This is a useful tool for bolting to foundation-plates when 
making sugar-pans and other similar castings in loam ; and 
it is beyond all question the best for setting in the flooi-, to 



Spinning Sheet Metal. 416 Spiral Conveyers. 

sweep moulds in green sand. Three blocks on the floor, 
on which to rest the points of the tripod, with three other 
smaller ones over them, constitute a very simple contrivance 
to receive the foundation-plate, the weight of Avhicli pre- 
cludes all possibility of shifting. The gig-spindle consists 
of a light square frame, witli legs, centre hub, and four 
handles on the corners for carrying it with; this, with a 
good taper-ended spindle, is extremely useful for numerous 
uses in both sand and loam. When the use of the spindle 
is thoroughly understood, a considerable amount of pattern- 
making may be dispensed with. See Loam-moulding. 

Spinning; Slieet Metal.— Sheets of silver, Britan- 
nia-metal, tin, and other malleable metals are, by motion 
and pressure, caused to flow or conform to a great variety 
of shapes. The process depends on the dexterity of the 
workman, the malleability .of the metal, and the time given 
for the flow of its particles; for it must not be too hard 
pressed, or the sheet will fracture. Metals are spun in a 
lathe; a chuck or mould of the article to be made is 
fastened to the fuce-plate, and the disk of sheet metal is 
pressed against it by the fixed centre. An ordinary rest 
serves as a purchase for the operator to apply the requisite 
pressure with his pressing-tools and burnishers. 

Section chucks, consisting of a central core and surround- 
ing sections, are employed when the nature of the work will 
not permit a solid chuck to be used. By means of these 
almost any description of vessel is easily moulded in sheet 
metal, when the core, being withdrawn, the remaining 
sections are taken out. 

Spiral Conveyers. — A conveying device composed 
of a central shaft and surrounding spiral screw, which, 
when revolved within a trough or pipe, presses out at the 
mouth whatever material is inserted at the opposite end. 



wpiral Drums. 417 Spiral Drums. 

This mode of conveying was first invented by Archimedes, 
who was born at Syracuse in Sicily, about 287 B.C. He 
used it for raising water from the Nile. See Con'veyers. 

Spiral Drums. — These drums are used at some 
collieries for drawing coal from the mines. The round 
wire rope is made to coil in a spiral groove upon the sur- 
face of the drum, which is formed by the frusta of two 
obtuse cone-castings, joined together with their small ends 
outwards, the idea being to equalize the work of the wind- 
ing-engine throughout the journey; for when the load is 
greatest, with the load at the bottom and all the rope out, 
the duty imposed upon the engine is limited to the length 
of the drum's least circumference. 

There are many ingenious devices for moulding and 
forming the grooves in these drums; and, besides those em- 
ployed in Europe, we may mention those by S. B. Whitney, 
Pottsville, Pa., and P. S. Dingey, author of ^^ Machinery 
Pattern-making," Chicago, 111. While the several me- 
chanical contrivances for regulating pitch, etc., may differ in 
some minor details, the general principles are about the same 
in all. Mr. Dingey's invention consists substantially of a 
footstep, in which a fixed spindle is inserted vertically; the 
former or sweep is made to travel up and down a screw 
by pulling round the upper arm, the screw itself being in- 
clined at the required angle. A bevel-gear is made fast to 
the spindle at the lower end, and the bracket which carries 
the pinion-shaft works loose upon the spindle. One end 
of the pinion-shaft is carried by a T-piece that turns on 
the spindle also, and the other end engages the working- 
screw by means of a universal joint, the screw itself being 
carried by adjustable arms at the top and bottom. The 
nut is prevented from turning on the screw by allowing it 
to work freely up and down a guide-shaft secured to the 
upper and lower arms, exactly parallel with the screw itself. 



Spirit. 418 Sponge-metal Process. 

Motion is imparted to the apparatus by drawing the arms 
around ; this causes the pinion and screw to turn, thus 
making the sweep ascend some distance at each rotation of 
tlie arms. The gears determine the pitch of the groove, 
and different-sized ones can be applied to suit. By simply 
changing the bevel-wheel and locating the pinion on op- 
posite sides, a left or right-hand groove is produced, and, 
being operated by a universal joint, it is easily adjusted to 
any angle of drum required. 

Spirit. — This name is usually given to fluids obtained 
by distillation, and that are lighter specifically than water. 
Essential oil of turpentine is called spirit of turpentine ; 
and the spirits of peppermint, aniseed, etc., are thus 
denominated because their essential oils have been dis- 
solved in alcohol. Hydrochloric acid is frequently called 
spirit of salts. In its strictest sense, however, alcohol is 
meant when the term spirit is employed. See Alcohol; 

DlSTILLATIOi^. 

Spirit-lamp. — A lamp in which alcohol is burned. 
These lamps are employed for their heat rather than for 
light— especially in the arts and manufactures, air-blast 
and other contrivances helping to make them more effec- 
tive. 

Spirit-level. — A glass nearly filled with alcohol, just 
enough air being allowed to remain in it to form a bubble. 
The tube is then closed and fixed in a metallic or wooden 
case. See Level. 

Sponge-metal Process. — This process of obtain- 
ing steel direct from the ore consists in first producing a 
sponge of malleable iron in vertical brick retorts charged 
with alternate layers of charcoal and ore, and fired from the 



Spouts for Cupolas. 419 Spray runner. 

outside. It takes about three days to obtain the metallic 
sponge, when it may be either melted in crucibles, along 
with substances rich in carbon, for steel; or it can be at 
once balled, hammered, cut, piled, reheated, and rolled into 
merchant-bars. See Crucible-steel. 

Spouts for Cupolas. — Spouts, as a rule, are made 
too small. Given plenty of width, there is room to get at the 
breast, and added depth lowers the stream — a desideratum 
when a crooked tap is made. They should always be set 
so that the bottom will be three inches below the sand-bed 
of the cupola. A slight incline induces motion of the 
stream. While it is possible to obtain good work from 
spouts prepared with sand each heat, preference must be 
given to those made with an internal flange on the front 
end corresponding to the shape of the spout when formed ; 
this flange serves to hold securely the fire-bricks with 
which the inside may be built, thus making an imperish- 
able channel close up to the breast. A slight rub over 
with fire-clay and a coat of blacking completes the opera- 
tions at this point. The bricks make a safe abutment for 
the breast, and when the sand-bottom is made the portion 
immediately adjacent to the fire-brick bottom of the spout 
can be made good with daubing mixture stiffened well 
with the fire-sand. See Breast-hole; Sand-bed; Cu- 
pola; Daubin^g. 

Spray-runner. — A long main runner, having spra3^s 
that connect with the mould. If one ingate be insufficient 
to distribute the metal equally hot to all parts of the mould, 
it is possible by this means to introduce the metal at 
I numerous other parts, without any increase of the number 
of ladles employed, by simjDly extending the main channel, 
and connecting with the mould at such parts; taking care 
that the size of the channel be proportionate to the spi-ays 



Sprig. 430 Sprue. 

flowing out from it. By this method thin plates are suc- 
cessfully run from one or two ladles of hot metal, which 
otherwise would require four or even six. For work that 
is rolled over, these sprays are best when formed by a 
pattern and set against the pattern before ramming the 
nowel. See Eunner; Gate. 



Sprig. — A small nail. See Nails. 

Spring* Cliaplet. — A form of stud, usually made by 
bending a short piece of hoop-iron so that the open end 
serves to spring back, and hold in place some loose core or 
piece of mould. Their strength must be in proportion to 
the pressure to be exerted, and some consideration should 
be given to the possibility of their melting in places where 
there is a strong current of molten metal. See Ohaplets. 

Spring Pattern-lifter. — A steel device for draw- 
ing very small patterns from the sand. Two fine stems 
connect with a spring which exerts its power in an out- 
ward direction, thus spreading the stems with force in 
the small hole made to receive it; after the manner of 
tweezers. See Spike. 

Sprinkling - pot. — This is simply a gardener's 
watering-pot, with a rose for sprinkling the water when 
it is desired to moisten the sand precisely. A special class 
of goods for the foundry are made of galvanized iron and 
copper, very strong, and with double bottoms. The regular 
dealers in foundry-supplies have all sizes in stock. 

Sprue. — The small vertical runner usually formed by 
bench and snap moulders. See Gate spool. 



Square. 421 Stains for Metals. 

Square. — A mechanic's sqiuire consists of two pieces 
of wood or metal at exact right angles to each other, and 
used either for testing or describing work. In geom- 
etry, a square is described as a four-sided rectilinear figure, 
of which all the angles are right angles and all the sides 
equal. 

Squeezer.— See Rotary Squeezer. 

Stains for Metals. — Metals may be stained or 
bronzed almost any color by simply immersing the article 
in a suitable liquid bronze. The action is in most cases 
immediate. Brass may be stained: hrown and intermediate 
shades to Hack, by immersing in a liquid composed of 
water 1 pint, nitrate of iron 5 drachms ; hlach — water 1 
pint, permuriate of iron 2 pints, muriate of arsenic 10 
ounces; broivn to red — water 1 pint, nitrate of iron 16 
drams, hyposulphite of soda 16 drams; steel color — water 1 
pint, muriate of arsenic 1 ounce; yellow to red — water 1 
pint, tersulphide of arsenic 30 grains, pearl-ash solution 6 
drams; Uue — water 1 pint, hyposulphite of soda 20 drams; 
orange — water 1 pint, potash solution of sulphur 1 dram; 
olive-green — water 2 pints, permuriate of iron 1 pint. 

Copper may be stained : broivn to black by immersing in a 
liquid composed of water 1 pint, nitrate of iron 5 drams; 
broiV7i to drab — water 1 pint, nitrate of iron 5 drams, sul- 
pliocyanide of potassium 2 drams; red — water 1 pint, sul- 
phide of antimony 2 drams, pearl-ash 1 ounce ; red to black 
— water 1 pint, sulphur 1 dram, pearl-ash 1 ounce; steel 
color — water 1 pint, muriate of arsenic 1 dram; the liquid 
in this case must be heated to 180°. 

Zinc may be stained: purple by boiling in logwood infu- 
sion; ref/, by boiling in garancine infusion; black — immerse 
in water 1 pint, nitrate of iron 5 drams ; copper color — water 
1 pint, sulphate of copper 8 drams, hyposulphite of soda 8 



Stake. 422 Stamping Metals. 

drams (this will need some agitation); darh gray — water 1 
pint, protocliloride of tin 1 dram, snlphocyanide of potas- 
sium 1 dram; green to gray — water 2, muriate of iron 1. 
See Picklikg; Dipping; Lacquerinct. 

Stake. — A foundry device for guiding flasks, draw- 
backs, and other portions of a mould, independent of either 
pins, slides, or hinges, and for all of which modes the stake 
is a substitute. For instance, a cope is employed to cover 
the mould which is bedded in the sand floor; a stake driven 
into the floor at each corner against a suitably provided 
guide-piece furnishes the means for closing exactly similar 
to an ordinary slide in a flask part. Iron stakes close bet- 
ter than wood, and may be from 1 inch to 2 inches square 
or round. If not firm enough when driven down and 
rammed, they are readily stiffened by driving a short 
wooden one of larger diameter behind. See Flasks; Pin". 

Stalactites. — Water containing carbonate of lime in 
solution deposits a portion of it on free exposure to the air. 
This is often seen in calcareous caverns. The water, as it 
trickles from fissures in the roof, deposits its carbonate 
until pendent masses form there. These are called stalac- 
tites. Where the water strikes on falling, other forms 
similar to those above gradually grow on tlie floor, and are 
called stalagmites. When these meet and unite they form 
a column. 

Stamping Metals. — Many kinds of metal-work for- 
merly bent into shape by the liammer and punch are now 
struck into shape by means of a pair of dies — one relief, 
the other intaglio, — between which the metal is pressed. 
Articles of considerable size are now made in hydraulic 
presses by means of a number of graduated dies, each pair 
coming gradually nearer the desired shape, but none of 



stamp mill. 423 Starch. 

tliem making an impression deep enough to strain the 
metal. 

StaiKip-inill is used chiefly for crushing or bruising 
ores, and consists of several vertical shafts which are made 
to descend with force by either water or steam power. See 
Ores. 

Stands for Moulds are contrivances for blocking 
parts of moulds above the floor. Too often these are 
simply a makeshift. An excellent stand is readily made 
by moulding an open-sand ring about 18 to 24 inches di- 
ameter, in which are cast three or more vertical rods with 
their top ends leaning inwards, so that when the ring has 
been cast the whole may be reversed, and tlie loose ends 
cast into another open-sand mould about 6 or 8 inches 
diameter and of sufficient depth to bind all the rods firmly 
together. There is hardly any limit to the usefulness of 
these stands, as they may be made to any height convenient 
at a slight expense. 

Starch is found in the grains, seeds, roots, pith, and 
bark of plants. It is a snow-white, glistening powder when 
pure; its round or oval grains varying in size from ^^ to 
^oVo" of ^^ i^<^^ i^ diameter. The granules of potato are 
larger than those of rice or wheat. Starch is insoluble in 
cold water, alcohol, or ether, but swells up and is converted 
into a paste in water containing 2 per cent of alkali. If 
heated in water to 140° the grains swell and burst, produc- 
ing gelatinous starch, or amaclin. Starch from grain is 
prepared by mixing the meal with water to a paste and 
washing the mass upon a sieve ; a white insoluble sub- 
stance a^iW^di gluten is then left. This gluten in wheat-flour 
is extremely tenacious and elastic, and this is Avhy free 
sands are made adhesive and strong by its use. See Flour; 

GLUTEiq". 



statuary-bronze. 424 Statue-founding. 

Statuary -bronze. — A bronze composed of copper 
9 and tin 1 is sometimes employed for statuary, but large 
statues are seldom cast of these two metals alone. For this 
reason it would be more correct to call the several alloys 
statuary brass. A brass used by the Egyptians consisted 
of brass 2, copper 1. Grecian and Roman, brass was an 
alloy of brass 2, copper 1, silver g^, lead -jV. The French 
sculptor Kellar, 1669, used copper 326.43, tin 25.35, zinc 
4.21, lead 1. Modern alloys are composed chiefly of copper 
2, brass 1. For general artistic pur230ses more zinc and tin 
are added, as they answer as well, are more easily worked, 
and are cheaper. See Statue-foukding. 

Statue-founding. — Whether the model from which 
bronze cast is to be taken be of wax, clay, plaster, or any 
other material, the customary mode of constructing the 
mould by the cire-perdne or waste wax-process is substan- 
tially as follows: The outside mould or matrix is first ob- 
tained in convenient plaster sections. The sections, either 
separate or together, according to convenience, are thick- 
nessed with wax, and secured in their respective positions 
to form the mould, into which a core composition, usually 
consisting of a creamy paste made from 2 parts of brick- 
dust and 1 part plaster of Paris, with water, is introduced. 
Should the core be massive or complicated, a skeleton core- 
iron is constructed, and such other preparations are made 
as may be needed to convey away the gases therefrom at 
the time of casting. When the core composition has set, 
the sections of mould are carefully taken off, leaving the 
wax thickness adhering to the core — a true representation 
of the original model, which, when made perfect at such 
parts as may have been injured, is then ready to receive a 
thin coat of very fine composition, usually applied with a 
brush, over which another coat more porous than the first 
is laid, and again a subsequent backing of a very open nature 



Statue-founding. 425 St-atjue-founding. 

is applied until tlie requisite stiffness is acquired. Coarse 
composition alone serves this purpose when the objects 
are small, for larger ones bricks, loam, etc., are often 
employed. When core and matrix have been thus con- 
structed, heat is applied, and the wax forthwith evacuates 
the mould, escaping at the lowest points of every portion 
of the figure through holes previously provided for that 
purpose. When the mould has been thoroughly dried, the 
space originally occupied by the wax is filled with metal by 
means of gates which are suitably disposed when the outer 
mould is constructed. Small statuettes and other figures 
are very easily made in the foundries by first carving a 
composition core, around which the sculptor lays a wax 
thickness and models his figure. A wire or perhaps two 
wires are then thrust through the figure, leaving the ends 
projecting; it is then placed within an iron frame or box, 
and the surrounding space filled with composition. When 
this has become hard, the wax is made to pass out by the 
application of heat, as before explained, the core remaining 
as a permanent fixture by reason of the projecting wires, 
which are firmly imbedded in the matrix. 

Hollow casts in zinc, lead, and tin are obtained by filling 
sectional brass moulds with molten metal at the open end, 
and allowing sufiicient time for a shell to congeal on the 
surface, when the remainder is allowed to escape by invert- 
ing the mould. 

For statuary, as above described, the sculptor produces 
his casting alone; but when the metal employed is cast iron, 
he must secure the services of a competent moulder, who 
first builds a core in loam, around which the sculptor fash- 
ions his figure in clay. 

The moulder then proceeds to form a cope in as many 
divisions as are needed for obtaining a perfect impression 
of the figure, by the processes common to loam or sand 
moulding. These several divisions being lifted away, the 



Steady pin. 426 Steam hammer. 

thickness is removed, core and cope duly finished and dried, 
and subsequently closed together again, and the mould 
cast. 

Many colossal statues are made in sections and pinned 
together over a stout iron or steel frame, and numbers of 
large plaster models are now sawn into convenient sections 
for moulding in sand, and cast either green or dry, accord- 
ing to circumstances. See Plaster-cast; Cire-perdue; 
Modellin^g; Statuary-bronze. 

Steady-pill. — An extra-long box-pin or slide, for 
maintaining a true vertical position when a cope with 
a deep straight lift is being raised. Also, a long, straight 
attachment to a pattern, or card of patterns, that extends 
some distance below in order to assure a true horizontal 
and vertical position during the process of drawing from 
the sand. The pin that is fixed on a pattern directly over 
where it is intended that a core shall protrude, to form a 
hole through the cope into which the top end may be 
guided, and thus keep it in a horizontal position, as well as 
permitting a vent to be carried off safely, is also termed a 
steady-pin. The wood or iron projections for guiding the 
halves of patterns and holding them to match are often 
called by that name. See Pin; Flask. 

Steam-crane. — A crane operated by a steam-engine. 
See Cranes. 

Steam ■ hammer. — This powerful hammering- 
machine was originally invented by Mr. Nasmyth, Patri- 
croft, England, in 1842, and is used for the purpose of 
beating malleable materials into the required form, etc. 
In its original form it consisted of an inverted cylinder, to 
whose piston an iron block which formed the hammer-head 
was attached. This hammer was raised by steam enter- 



steam-jet Cupola. 427 Steam-jet Cupola. 

ing below tlie piston, and the hammer fell when the 
steam was allowed to escape. 

Steam -jet Cupola, patented by Herbertz, who 
claims it as one of the most important metallurgic inven- 
tions of modern times. He further says "that it will surely 
have a great future by reason of its enormous advantages 
over the systems now in use. It is not merely an improve- 
ment of the present system, but a complete revolution. 

"It naturally follows that there will have to be a complete 
change in the manner of doing business wherever smelting- 
furnaces are used. Up to the present time all cupolas 
were worked by blast-air. To produce this, complicated 
machinery was necessary, and large and expensive build- 
ings. A hearth solidly built in masonry was indispensable, 
and this had to be hermetically sealed on account of the 
heavy interior pressure. 

"The steam-jet cupola is the exact reverse of this. It 
works by means of atmospheric air breathed or sucked into 
the furnace by a jet of steam placed in the upper part of 
the isaaft. It has a movable hearth, which can be raised or 
lowered at will, and which forms with the shaft an annular 
opening by which the air needed for combustion is intro- 
duced. This cupola requires no motive force, and the 
vacuum produced in the shaft by the suction allows every 
stage of the smelting process to be observed by means of 
valves and tubes placed at different heights, thereby fur- 
nishing a convenient means of controlling the work. 

" The furnace and the hearth are rendered independent, 
the work may be carried on under perfect control, and 
necessary repairs can be easily and promptly attended to — 
a most embarrassing thing in the old furnaces with solid 
mured hearth. 

"The workings of the steam-jet cupola can be divided, 
accordingly, into the following groups and sub-groups: 



steam-winch. 428 Steel. 

'^I. Smelting of metals: 

1. Smelting of j)ig iron; 

2. Smelting of steel and malleable cast iron; 

3. Smelting of other metals and metallic ores. 
^' II. Production of metals by the reduction of their 

ores or slags: 

1. Production of pig iron; 

2. Production of lead; 

3. Production of raw copper, copper-scoria, and 

copper-slate. 
" III. Calcination of ores and minerals, such as lime, 
dolomite, malachite, etc., for instance, minerals, 
demanding the expelling of carbonic acid; also, 
for smelting glass." 

Steam-winch. — A hoisting-crane to which a steam- 
engine is attached, the power acting on the winding- drum 
by intermediate gearing, or direct from the piston-rod. 
See Cranes. 

Stearic Acid. — See Oils. 

Steatite.— See Soapston"e. 

Steel. — This wonderful modification of iron is a com- 
pound of the metal with from .833 to 1.G7 per cent of 
carbon. In its properties steel combines the fusibility of 
cast iron with the malleability of wrought iron. Its value 
for cutting instruments, springs, etc., depends upon its 
quality of being tempered. When heated to redness and 
plunged into cold water it becomes hard enough to scratch 
glass; if again heated and cooled slowly, it becomes as soft 
almost as ordinary iron, and between these two extremes 
any required degree of hardness is obtained. As the metal 
declines in temperature, the tliin film of oxide upon its sur- 



steel Bronze. 429 Steel Castings. 

face constantly changes its color, and it is by these tints that 
the workman is guided. Thus, a straw-color indicates the 
degree of hardness for razors, a deep blue for sword-blades, 
saws, and watch-springs. Steel receives a higher polish 
than iron, and has less tendency to rust. Nitric acid cor- 
rodes it, and leaves the carbon as a dark-gray stain. For 
the various processes of manufacture see I:n^dia Steel; 
Puddle - steel; Blister- steel; Crucible or Cast 
Steel ; Bessemer Steel ; Open-hearth or Siemens- 
Martin Steel; Chromium Steel; Damascus Steel; 
etc. 

Steel Bronze is the invention of Col. Uchatius, of 
the Austrian arsenals. It is simply a substitute for steel 
in the manufacture of guns. The alloy consists of about 
90 copper and 10 tin, and is cast in an iron mould round 
a forged copper core. The resultant casting, after being 
turned and bored, is subjected to a process of opening and. 
elongation by means of a conical steel-plug forced through 
by hydraulic power, resulting, it is claimed, in a tube of 
equal quality to the best steel tubes. See Bronze. 

Steel Castings. — The chief desideratum in melting 
steel in an open-hearth furnace when the metal is intended 
for castings is to melt as hot as fuel will make it and keep 
oxidization as low as possible in the bath, by admitting 
only just enough air to insure thorough combustion. The 
charge usually consists of pig iron containing about 8 per 
cent of manganese. Spiegeleisen containing perhaps 14 
per cent is sometimes used, along with enough of other pig 
free from manganese to procure that percentage in the 
resultant mixture. 

The quality of steel required determines subsequent 
operations for softening, refining, etc., which is accom- 
plished by additions to the bath of such materials as will 



steel Castings. 430 Steel Castings. 

favor the change desired. Various kinds of scrap, blooms, 
etc., are introduced in a semi-molten condition, so as to 
prevent any sudden reduction of temperature in the batli. 
Tests are made by dipping and pouring a small ingot 
which while red-hot is hammered down to a thin plate, 
and by its resistance to flexure, etc., indicates the con- 
dition of the metal and its fitness for casting. In some 
steel- foundries this knowledge is obtained by cooling the 
test-piece in water and breaking it on an anvil. When 
the metal is found to be sufficiently soft and pure, the 
final ingredients for converting it into steel, consisting 
generally of a specially manufactured pig iron containing 
manganese and silicon (silico-spiegel), is introduced, along 
with more or less ferro-manganese. The whole is then 
stirred well with a rabble, and if found correct is ready for 
tapping. 

Many small castings are sold for steel that have been 
simply cast from good white pig iron very low in phospho- 
rus and silicon, and afterwards annealed in hematite ore 
or smithy scales, after the manner of malleable-iron cast- 
ings. See Malleable-iron^ Castings. 

An opinion that gains favor rapidly is that the Bessemer 
process of manufacturing steel will be ultimately recognized 
as superior to the open-hearth. Even now, owing to the 
fact that hot metal of any desired mixture may be obtained 
from the converter more frequently throughout the day 
than is possible in the open-hearth, which is limited to 
about three heats a day, many firms are working a small 
Bessemer converter for the lighter class of castings. 

As steel castings must be poured from the bottom of the 
ladle by means of a stopper, just as ingots are filled (see 
Ingots), there is practically no difficulty in delivering the 
metal clean, as the slag is all held on the surface above; 
but, owing to the liability of leakage when the stopper is 
damaged, it requires considerable dexterity to fill a number 



steel Castings. 431 Steel Castings. 

of small moulds successfully by this means. The larger 
ones are simple enough. 

If all the runner system cannot be contained within 
the flask, and the mould must necessarily be rammed in 
the pit, runner-cores made specially from very refractory 
materials are set against the gate apertures and con- 
tinued one upon another up to the surface, where suitable 
arrangements are made for receiving the stream from the 
bottom of the ladle. By this means the molten steel is 
prevented from encountering the non-refractory materials 
composing the pit-sand and runner as well as casting is 
contained in a dry-sand mould. 

Hot as it may appear when melted, steel is by no means 
as fluid as cast iron, for which reason the runners and gates 
must always be made proportionately larger; but, like cast 
iron, it is always easier on the mould when the metal enters 
from the bottom. Of course it is necessary in very large 
castings, whether cast vertical or slanting, that additional 
runners be placed near the top also. 

Kisers on steel castings should be markedly heavy in 
proportion, and preference should be given to a position 
that will favor an equal distribution of the liquid pressure 
exerted; yet the highest heavy portions of the casting are 
properly chosen as a rule. An important feature in these 
heavy risers is to give them taper sufficient to favor an 
easy withdrawal from the hard sand when contraction 
commences; otherwise they are liable to draw the casting 
apart. 

To discover a facing that would successfully resist the 
intense heat of molten steel and produce a smooth casting 
like cast iron has been the aim of very many who have 
engaged in this business. Very naturally such substances 
as were commonly employed for furnace construction, 
melting-crucibles, etc., were among the flrst employed. 
Pulverized fire-brick, with some clay and a wash over with 



steel Castings. 432 Steel Castings. 

brick-dust and water, was one of the earliest facings used. 
Moulds made from sands or other mixtures that are stif- 
fened with flour are apt to crumble away at tlie slightest 
touch if the heat applied to dry them has been sufficient to 
burn the flour; and this is why molasses, which makes 
equally as good a bond if intimately ground into the sand, 
is now preferred. A ferric clay found in Switzerland, 
containing oxide of iron 40 per cent, graphite 2 per cent, is 
employed as a facing in some foundries. It dries exceed- 
ingly hard, will take about one third silica sand, and makes 
good moulds and cores and moulds for light work. It may 
be mixed with water for loam. The chief objection to its 
use is its extreme hardness, which compels the use of softer 
material wherever contraction is likely to be intercepted. 
In some parts coke, old fire-bricks, crucibles, the artificial 
graphite from gas-retorts, and many substances of a like 
nature, constitute the chief materials used for mixing with 
the sand employed for facing. 

One of the best facings for ordinary steel castings is 
simple silica sand (the purer the better) and molasses, 
brought to the proper consistency by grinding well to- 
gether. 

To obtain a core that will meet every requirement in 
very large castings is still an unsolved problem; for if 
a mixture be made with the softer material, to favor easy 
extraction, it yields to heat and pressure, and invariably 
forms a mixed mass of steel and sand, while the harder and 
more refractory material bakes almost solid. Ordinarily 
the silica sand mixed with coal-tar or molasses is the best. 
The artificial hardness imparted by these ingredients is 
dissipated by the intense heat, the sand is again friable, 
and it falls out. 

Shrinkage in steel amounts to more than double that of 
good cast iron — from y\ to -f-^ in a foot. This, in conjunc- 
tion with the more rapid cooling compared with cast iron. 



steel Castings. 433 Steel Castings. 

necessitates a plentiful use of ashes, or their equivalent, in 
both cores and moulds, at such places as would be likely 
to interfere with a free and uninterrupted contraction 
of the whole. If liberty cannot be obtained by this pro- 
vision, then the hard mould must be weakened by digging 
away the sand in the immediate vicinity of whatever is 
being obstructed, or perhaps lifting tlie casting out of 
the flask entirely and covering it with sand or hot 
ashes. Sometimes this is done, and the casting, instead 
of being covered, is at once consigned to the annealing 
oven. Castings that are well proportioned seldom betray 
the slightest sign of cracking when the latter method is 
adopted. 

In extreme cases, where joining portions are liable to be 
separated through a more than ordinarily rapid contrac- 
tion, the parts apt to yield may be thrust forward by means 
of a set-screw in the side of the flask, acting upon a plate 
previously set in the mould for that purpose. 

Various means are employed to hold straggling parts of 
steel castings to the main body. There being little or no 
fibre to the metal, they snap off short at the least provoca- 
tion; every sharp angle in the mould is a source of danger 
on this account. It is customary, therefore, to connect 
each of these weak extending parts to the body of the cast- 
ing by a bracket or brackets, which are subsequently re- 
moved; angles of every description are eradicated by strict 
attention to filleting, or rounding every corner. 

Oast-iron chills also serve a good purpose on these cast- 
ings, for, besides imparting a smooth surface, tvitJiout chilly 
wherever they are placed, they at once absorb the heat, 
congeal the surface, and thus in a very simple manner pre- 
vent contraction fractures in many instances. 

Fins cut at certain parts will sometimes induce almost 
immediately congelation, and prevent rupture by the added 
strength of the comparatively cold metal, which extends its 



steel-faced Castings. 434 Steel-press. 

strengthening influenoe, more or less, into the casting by 
reason of the prematurely local shrinkage created. 

Not unfrequently parts that are dissimilar in magnitude 
are drawn apart by the antecedent shrinkage of the thinner 
body of metal. This too may often be prevented by at- 
taching a thin connecting web or webs, extending some 
distance beyond the point of junction, either way ; the 
web being thinner, sets more rapidly than either of the 
other divisions, and holds them together by reason of a 
prior contraction. 

Steel-faced Castings. — A face of steel may, under 
favorable conditions, be given to castings in iron, by mak- 
ing the steel red-hot, and placing it within a dry-sand 
mould. If possible, drop the molten iron immediately 
over the steel to be welded, by runners sufficient to cover 
the piece and effect a junction quickly ; otherwise the 
process is rendered inoperative by the metal simply run- 
ning over it and out at the escape, at a gradually decreas- 
ing temperature — just so much waste. A very su]3erior 
union is always effected when the body of cast iron is large, 
the steel being under the influence of fluid metal for a less 
space of time in proportion as the body becomes thinner. 
Sometimes these junctions are effected, apparently, by 
forcing a large quantity of molten metal through the 
mould ; but if the steel is not subjected to the abrading 
influence of a direct fall, it can hardly be expected that a 
solid weld will be made. 

Steel Furnace. — See Crucible Steel ; Bessemer 
Steel ; Siemen"s-Martij^ Steel ; Open-hearth Steel ; 
Steel Castings. 

Steel-press. — Metallic moulds receive the molten 
steel through suitable runners, after which mechanical 



steering bar. 435 Stereotyping. 

means are employed for exerting a pressure on the fluid 
metal to force out the gases and give greater density to 
the steel. See Pressing Fluid Steel. 

Steering-bar is generally a long iron shank, swaged 
on one end to fit either a round or square shaft which pro- 
jects beyond the bale of a geared or other crane ladle, on 
the opposite side to the man who pours, to steer the ladle 
during the operation. Ladles are also steered with a long 
rod having two projecting fingers forged at the end at right 
angles with the rod. These clip the bale or beam of the 
ladle, and thus control or steer it. See Ladles. 

Step-metal.— See Alloys; Brass Mixtures. 

Stereotype-metal. — See Stereotyping; Type- 
metal. 

Stereotyping^.— The art of obtaining metul plates 
about ~^Q inch in thickness from pages of type previously 
set up in the ordinary manner. The art was invented by 
William Ged of Edinburgh, 1725. The forms of type are 
first laid on a smooth table, face upwards, oiled, and after 
the frame or flask which regulates the depth of plaster has 
been placed around, the surface is covered and swept off 
even. This cast is then dried, and afterwards turned face 
down on an iron floate?% and the whole is placed within the 
(lip2jing-pa?i, the lid of which fits the pan except at each 
corner, where provision is made for the entrance of the 
fluid metal. A clamp stretching across the pan serves to 
bind all together, and furnishes means for suspending and 
lowering into the bath, where it is immersed well down, 
to create a pressure, which causes the metal to spread and 
fill every cavity precisely, the thickness being regulated by 
an adjustment between the plaster-cast and floating-plate. 
The metal used for this purpose is various; some use type- 



Sterro metal. 436 Stewart's Kapid Cupola. 

metal; others, lead 100, antimony 15; and, again, lead 4, 
antimony 1, tin 1 ; but generally the alloys contain from 4 
to 8 lead to 1 of antimony, according to hardness required. 
It must be understood that antimony acts to neutralize 
the contraction of lead, and causes the alloy to give a cor- 
rect impression of the mould. See Type-metal. 

Sterro -metal. — A gun-metal alloy of remarkable 
strength invented by Baron Rosthorn, Vienna. See Delta- 
metal. 

Stewart's Rapid Cupola. — This cupola embodies 
the principle of tall stacks and small diameter, which now 
seem to be gaining favor as fuel-savers, being, according to 
reports, far more economical than low ones of large diam- 
eter, which are now so common almost everywhere. The 
principal dimensions of a Stewart Kapid Cupola capable of 
melting 7 to 10 tons of thoroughly mixed and very hot iron 
per hour is as follows: 

Ft. In. 
Outside of ordiuary shell 7 diam. 

" "chimney 6 0" 

"air-belt 9 2" 

" "receiver 4 -" 

Inside of receiver 2 6 " 

" " cupola-lining at tuyeres 3 11 " 

•' " chargiug-door 5 3" 

" " at chimney 4 3 " 

Total height of cupola proper (exclusive of top bracket) 46 " 

To the extreme top of bracket 52 '* 

Height from ground level to charging-platform 22 " 

Height from charging-platform to sill of charging-door 2 0" 

Height of air-belt 3 3" 

" " receiver-shell 3 9" 

" from ground-level to tapping-hole 3 3" 

Area of outlet-chimney (inside of lining) 3 6 square 

Outside size of " 4 9 " 

Capacity of receiver (molten metai) 2 toti§ 



I 



Stibnite. 437 Stibnite. 

The cupola is fixed upon a strong cast-iron base-plate 7 
feet 6 inches square by 3 inches thick. This base-plate is 
cast in halves across the corners, so as to allow of expansion 
with the cupola-shell. It is supported by four cast-iron 
columns 5 feet long by 10 inches in diameter, whicii are 
bolted to the cast-iron base-plate. The cupola base-plate 
is provided with a wrought-iron hinged drop-bottom door, 
which is also in halves, opening from the centre of base- 
plate. There are three rows of tuyeres to supply zones of 
oxygeu, necessary for a thorough combustion of the fuel, 
enclosed in the air-belt, each zone acting independent of 
the others. A chief feature in this cupola is the brick- 
lined receiver for the melted metal, by which means the 
heat is retained and oxidation prevented, while the blast- 
pressure maintains an agitation conducing to a thorough 
mixing together of the various kinds of metal entering into 
the charge. The waste heat is utilized by passing up a 
gannister-lined pipe entering the cupola just above the air- 
belt. This cupola is hooded, an escape for waste gases 
being regulated by a flap-door at the side. The charging- 
platform is entirely constructed of wrought-iron crossed 
beams and plates, the joints of the plates being carefully 
planed and the plates riveted to the girders to insure per- 
fect safety to the workmen below and above. This plat- 
form has an area over 1200 superficial feet, and is covered 
by a wrought-iron roof with provision for lighting and 
ventilation. The platform is connected with a hydraulic 
hoist. 

Stibnite, or Sulphuret of Antimony, is the ore from 
which the antimony is obtained. It is found in primitive 
and secondary rocks associated with sulphurets of lead and 
zinc, and with ores of copper, iron, and arsenic. Its com- 
position is antimony 74, sulphur 2G. Lead, gray in color, 
occurs massive, composed of delicate threads closely aggre- 



Stone. ■iBS Stopping-off. 

gated, and sometimes so fine as to resemble wool. See 
Antimony. 

Stone. — The substances which enter into the composi- 
tion of simple stones are silica, alumina, zirconia, glncina, 
lime, magnesia, etc., and the oxides of iron, manganese, 
liickel, chromium, and copper; and it is seldom that more 
than four or five of tliese substances are found combined in 
one stone. (See Silica; Sandstone; Kock; etc.) Ar- 
tificial stone is produced by the cementing properties of 
soluble alkaline silicates on sand. Sand 10, glass 1, clay ], 
silicate of soda 1, is brought to the consistency of putty in 
a pug-mill; this is moulded, dried, kilned at a red heat, 
and allowed to cool, thus forming a vitrified mass similar 
to sandstone. A later method produces the stone without 
baking by effecting a double composition with the silicate 
of soda and the chloride of calcium. See Soluble Glass. 

Stone-coal. — A common name for anthracite coal. 
See Coal. 

Stoneware. — Coarse porcelain, a very hard kind of 
pottery made from clay containing ferric oxide and some 
lime, to which it owes its partial fusibility. The glazing is 
done by throwing common salt into the furnace ; this is 
volatilized and decomposed by the joint agency of the silica 
in tlie object and of the vapor of water always present; 
muriatic acid and soda are thus produced, the latter form- 
ing a silicate, which fuses over the surface of the ware and 
leaves thereon a thin but excellent glaze. See Pottery; 
Porcelain. 

Stopping - off. — A foundry designation for the 
methods employed to produce castings which differ in di- 
mensions and form from the pattern supplied. The op- 



Stopping-up. 439 Straightening Castings. 

erations consist essentially of cutting off and adding to 
portions of sand by means of the regular tools, aided by 
"stopping-off pieces." Superior workmen are employed on 
this work. See Jobbing-moulder; Technical Educa- 
tion FOR THE Moulder. 

Stoppiiig-up. — A phrase employed when the tap-hole 
is being plugged witli clay by the cupola-man. See Bott- 
stick; Bott-clay; Tapping-hole. 

Stoiirl>rid§^e Fire-clay.— A well known fire-clay. 
The average analysis is: silica 63.30, alumina 23.30, lime 
.73, ferrous oxide 1.80, water (hygroscopic) 10.30. See 
Fire clay; Silica. 

Stove. — A very common name for the foundry oven. 
See Oven. 

Stove-plate. — A general name for all the thin, flat 
castino^s used for the construction of stoves. 



o 



straight-edge. — A strip of wood or metal with 
which to test the accuracy of an edge or surface. Se3 
Parallel Straight-edge; Bed; Level. 

Straighten ing Castings. — Many methods are 
practised for restoring crooked castings to the proper 
shape, but the best, when practicable, is to make them red- 
hot in a heating-furnace, and employ such means after- 
wards as will hold them in shape until they are cold. Per- 
haps it will be necessary to bend a little in the opposite 
direction before they can be made to assume their true shape. 
In proportion as this effective means of heating can be ap- 
proached by outside firing, so will the measure of success 
be. Especially is this the case with large, complicated cast- 



Strap 440 Strength of Materials. 

JDgs. Crooks in castings are seldom abrupt; the line inva- 
riably forms a true curve. To bring this back again correctly 
it is absolutely necessary that the whole be heated; otherwise 
it will simply yield at the heated spot or spots, leaving two 
or more short bends in place of the original regular curve, or, 
what is still more likely, break the casting. See Peeking. 

Strap. — The belt, of leather or other material, nsed for 
lifting cores into the mould. Also, a strip of flat iron 
screwed fast to a pattern for the purpose of pulling it out 
of the sand. A hole at the top serves to insert the hook, 
and a toe set in under the bottom materially assists the 
short screws which bind it to the pattern. Straps are 
always best when they are inlaid flush with the face. Long 
iron straps with two or more tapped holes are to be pre- 
ferred for securing sweeps to the spindle-arm; they are 
better than washers and nuts, especially when each bolt has 
a hole forged at the end for a pointed bar, instead of the 
usual head for the wrench. See Belt; Sweep-board. 

Straw Iloi)e. — Straw twisted into a rope for wrapping 
core-barrels, and other purposes for which hay is used. 
See Hay Eopb; Hay-rope Twister. 

Strength of Materials. — The strength of materials 
is governed by their physical constitution, or by their form, 
texture, hardness, elasticity, and ductility; and they are 
tested in reference to various strains — as tensile, crushing, 
transverse, shearing, and torsional strains. Tensile is rep- 
resented by suspending a rod vertically and attaching 
weights at the other end, which will tend to tear it asunder. 
Its strength depends on the strength of each individual 
fibre, and upon their number, Crusliing. — :The strength of 
individual pieces of material whose height is small in pro- 
portion to their area, and which are absolutely crushed un- 
der the strain, is proportionate to the area of their horizontal 



Strickle. 



441 



Strickle. 



section. Transverse. — A beam is bent from its horizontal 
shape if one end be fixed and the other loaded. It is sup- 
posed that the compressions and extensions for the given 
strain are about equal if the beam be not strained beyond 
the limit of its elasticity; we approach the breaking-strain 
if we go beyond this limit. Shearing. — The shearing force is 
exerted when the particles in one plane are caused to slide 
over those in another, as in cutting plate-iron with the 
shears. Torsion. — If we make one end of a shaft fast, and 
exert a force to cause it to rotate, we may twist the shaft 
asunder at its weakest part. In this case the fibres far- 
thest from the centre will resist the most, diminishing in 
proportion as the centre is reached. 

STRENGTH OF MATERIALS. 





Tensile 
Strength. 

Weight re- 
quired to pull 
a bar 1 inch 
square 
asunder. 


Crushing 
Strength. 

Weight re- 
quired to 
crush 1 inch 
square. 


Transverse 
Strength. 

Bar 1 inch 
square and 
1 foot long. 
Weight sus- 
pended at one 
end. 


Torsion. 


Substances. 


Relative 
strength to 
i-e.sist torsion 
Lead being 1. 


Oust iron 

Wrought iron 

Sleel 


25,000 
60.000 
90,000 
20,000 
40,000 
20,000 
4,000 
2,500 
28,000 

[ 36,000 

1,800 


120,000 
50,000 

125,000 
35,000 


600 

900 

1,500 


9 

10.1 
16 6 


Gold cast 




Silver, cast 


500 




Copper, cast 

Tin, block 

Ziiic cast 


100,000 
15,500 


4.3 


50 
30 


1.4 


liiass, yellow 

Bronze] ^5^^^;!^; 
Lead, cast 




4 6 






5 


7,000 


20 


1 







— See Weight of Metals. 



Strickle. — A straight edge may be classed as a strickle 
when the edge is bevelled for the purpose of cutting sand or 
loam. 



strike. 442 Stuckofen Furnace. 

Any board or iron plate used for fashioning cores or 
moulds, loam-boards for pipe-cores, pipe-sweeps, loam- 
moulders^ sweep-boards, etc., are all classed, according to 
locality, as strickles, strikes, or sweeps. In skilful hands 
the strickle affords an excellent opportunity for the display 
of high-class moulding. Each of the devices mentioned are 
explained in order as they occur. See Former. 

Strike. — Same as strickle. See Strickle. 

Strong Facing. — Facing-sand is termed strong or 
weak, in proportion to the amount of clay present, or the 
quantity of coal used in the mixture. See Facing-sand. 

Strontium. — This metal resembles barium in its 
appearance and properties. The nitrate of strontia is 
principally in the composition of the well-known red-fire 
of the pyrotechnist. These metals occur abundantly as 
sulphate and carbonate, forming the vein-stone in many 
lead-mines. They are malleable, melt below a red heat, 
decompose water with evolution of hydrogen, and gradually 
oxidize in the air. See Metals. 

Stucco. — A common term for various kinds of compo- 
sition used for the finer parts of plaster-work on masonry 
and interior decorations. By the addition to common 
plaster of other suitable ingredients it is made to resem- 
ble the various kinds of marbles. See Gypsum ; Plaster 
Cast. 

Stuckofen Furnace.— This furnace or bloomary 
was formerly employed in some parts of Germany as a 
direct method of producing malleable iron from the ore, 
but it has been gradually abandoned in favor of the less 
direct but more economical methods now in vogue. The 



Stud. 443 Sturtevant PreSsure-blower. 

furnace is about fifteen feet bigli and thirty inches in diam- 
eter at the hearth — the latter having but one arcli, which 
serves for inserting the tuyere., and also for taking out the 
bloom. 

The hearth is first filled with charcoal and lighted, after 
which tlie roasted ore and charcoal charged alternately, 
when the tuyere is inserted and blast supplied from a bel- 
lows driven by a convenient water-wheel. Slag is tapped 
from time to time and the metal falls to the hearth. After 
about twenty-four hours have elapsed the blast ceases, th^ 
tuyere is drawn out, breast removed, and the bloom lifted 
out and conveyed to the shingling-hammer for consoli- 
dation. Subsequent operations after the usual methods 
.result in bar-iron. See Shingling; Puddling; etc. 

Stud. — See Chaplets. 

Sturtevant Pressure-blower.— The vanes of 
this instrument are supported by spokes radiating from an 
axis having conical annular disks mounted on the same 
axis, and the fan is driven by two belts, to prevent wobbling. 
The air enters between the spokes around the axis, and is 
forcibly driven by the curved floats which span the space 
between the annular disks, being discharged into the 
circular chamber connecting with the blast-pipe. 

In addition to its use for cupola-furnaces and forge-fires 
this is a very efficient machine for producing the blast in 
sand-blast machines, for forcing air long distances in con- 
nection with the pneumatic-tube delivery system, or in any 
cases where a high pressure ,or strong blast is required. 

It is built heavier and stronger than formerly, par- 
ticularly in the running parts, which are most subject to 
wear. 

The high speed at which pressure-blower belts must run 
renders it necessary that especial attention should be given 



Sublimation. 444 Sullage. 

them. If, while a heat is on in the foundry, the belts 
begin to run loose or slip, a stoppage is usually necessary 
to take out the slack; but by means of an arrangement 
consisting of a blower, adjustable by a screw, on a wrouglit- 
iron frame-bed, any required tension may be brought upon 
the belts while running, thus preventing the inconvenience 
and loss incident to a stoppage of tlie blower while work is 
in progress. 

The use of this bed will be found to result in a decided 
saving in belts. Kelacing for the purpose of taking out 
slack is, on account of the time required, ordinarily put 
off until the belt will run no longer; but a turn or two of 
the nut on the end of the adjusting-screw and retightening 
the holding-down bolts takes but a moment, and is more 
satisfactory than relacing. See Blower. 

Sublimation, — A process by which certain volatile 
substances are raised by heat and again condensed by cold 
into a solid or crystallized form, as iodine, sulphur, arsenic. 
Camphor thus vaporizes and condenses in crystals on the 
sides of the chemisVs jars by the rise and fall of ordinary 
temperatures. It is possible, by decomposing a compound 
liquid or gas, to obtain one or more of its constituents 
crystallized. Various gases when passed through red-hot 
tubes deposit crystals. Metallic solutions are decomposed 
by passing a galvanic current through them, the metals 
being deposited in the crystalline form. See Sulphur; 
Arsenic. 

Sugar-i^ans. — See Pans. 

Sullage. — Dirt and scoria that accumulate on the 
surface of molten metal during the process of filling 
moulds. In this case it consists of the melted particles of 
sand, etc., gathered from the mould itself as well as that 



Sullage-head. 445 Sulphur. 

which passes therein from ladle and runner surfaces,wlHch 
latter will always be in proportion to the amount of care 
exercised to prevent it by suitable skimming arrangements. 
Cupola and ladle slag is frequently termed sullage. See 
Slag; Scoria; Skimming-gate; Skimmer. 

Sullage-head.— See Head. 

Sulphates are definite compounds of sulphuric acid 
with the salifiable bases. 

Sulphites are definite compounds of sulphurous acid 
with the bases. 

Suli>hur, usually called brimstone, is sold in powder 
and in solid pieces. This substance exists abundantly in 
nature, both free and in combination. It is found in the 
neighborhood of volcanoes, especially in the island of Sic- 
ily. It exists in combination with various metals, forming 
sulphides, and as a constituent of sulphuric acid it is met 
with in gypsum and other minerals. It is volatile, and sub- 
limes by heat. Advantage is taken of its volatility to sepa- 
rate it from the mineral impurities with which it is found 
associated. Iron pyrites contain 50 per cent of sulphur, 
which is separated by roasting or heating the pyrites in 
tubes and running off the sulphur into vessels of water. 
Sulphur melts at 239° F. At this temperature it is thin and 
fluid as water; when further heated it thickens, with a 
darker color; and at 480° F. it is so tenacious as to almost 
refuse to run. Poured into water in this condition it will 
retain for a long time a very tenacious and soft condition, 
followed by a state of brittleness again. In its soft condi- 
tion it is sometimes called j^'^^tty sulphur. In this state it 
may be used to take impressions of medals, coins, etc. See 
Sulphur Impressio:n'S, 



Sulphurets. 446 Sweep. 

Sulpliurets are sulphides or combinations of alkalies 
or metals with sulphur. • 

Svili)huric Acid (the oil of vitriol, or vitriol of 
commerce) is a powerful acid of great interest to chemists 
and manufacturers. It is found in the craters of volcanoes 
and in mineral springs; but it is generally procured by 
burning nitre and sulphur in large furnaces, the fumes 
from which are delivered into large lead chambers, where, 
by the action of steam and air introduced, it is deprived of an 
atom of oxygen and becomes sulphuric acid. See Nitre. 

Svilphur Impressions. — These impressions of 
medals, gems, or any other delicate object may be obtained 
easily by using sulphur when it has been made to assume 
the soft or pastry condition (see Sulphur). Or, melt the 
sulphur and increase the heat until it becomes brown; then 
pour into a vessel, and just before it hardens press the object 
enough to obtain a good impression. See Medals. 

Swab. — A substitute for a brush; a hemp contrivance 
for holding and delivering water, made either by wrapping 
one end of a piece of rope and combing out the rest, or 
from new hemp, which needs only to be wrapped at the 
end. Large ones serve to moisten joints, etc.; small ones 
are useful to hold in the hand, and by a gentle pressure 
cause a fine stream of water to flow upon an edge, etc. 
Swabs are extremely useful for spreading blackening upon 
dry-sand moulds made from soft friable sands, as they do 
not tear up the surface in the manner a bristle brush in- 
variably does. Dealers supply good swabs at a price slightly 
in excess of what the best hemp costs. 

Swab-pot. — The iron pot containing water and swab 
used by the moulder. See Swab. 

Sweep. — See Strickle, 



Sweep-board. 447 Tackle. 

Svveep-boiird is essentially a strickle, but this term 
is iiivariabl}^ used for all boards that are intended to sweep 
circular moulds by means of the spindle. The sweep- 
board is bolted to the spindle-arm, and, being revolved, 
imparts to the finished cope whatever design has been 
carved on its edge. See Strickle; Spindle; Loam- 

MOULDIKG. 



Swelled Castings. — See Ramming; Venting; 
Tramping. 



Swivel. — In foundry nomenclature swivels mean the 
trunnions of a flask. Properly speaking, a swivel consists 
of a link made to turn round on a headed pin. See 
Flasks; Chain. 

Swivel-chain is a chain supplied with a swivel-link 
to permit an even disposal of the links, free from twisting 
or kinks. This may be accomplished in a superior manner 
by inserting a long flat link, which, besides working loose on 
a link-pin at one end, is also tapped at the other end to 
receive a long threaded link-pin, by which means several 
chains may be readily adjusted to any required variety of 
lengths, and thus effectually dispense with the dangerous 
method of twisting the chains, so prevalent in some foun- 
dries. A chain made in this manner is commonly termed 
a buckle chain by foundrymen. See Chain; Swivel. 



Tabor Moulding Machine. — See Moulding- 
machines. 

Tackle.— See Rigging. 



Talc. 448 Tapping-bar. 

Talc occurs in primitive rocks, as granite and serpen- 
tine. It somewbat resembles mica, but the latter is both 
flexible and elastic, while talc is elastic but not flexible. 
Its composition is silex 61, magnesia 30.5, potash 2.75, 
oxide of iron 2.5, water 0.5. It is used for crucibles, the 
manufacture of crayons, porcelain, etc. It is a soft white, 
transparent or translucent mineral, and is commonly 
termed steatite when massive. See Soapstoke. 

Tamping is the process of filling the hole above the 
charge when blasting rock, so that the force may be ex- 
pended laterally, and thus rend the rock asunder. 

Tam-tam. — A Chinese gong. See Gong-metal; Al- 
loys. 

Tank. — See Reservoir; Dam. 

Tap. — The quantity of metal which runs from a furnace 
or cupola, from the time of opening or tapping to that of 
closing or hotting up, is called a tap. A large ladle is said 
to be filled at one or more taps, as the case may be. 

Tap-cinder. — See Mill-cinder. 

Taper is draught given to patterns and models to make 
their withdrawal from the sand easier. In other words, 
the lowest parts of a pattern are made smaller in dimen- 
sions than the upper, in order that a gradually increasing 
clearance shall occur as the pattern is being drawn from 
the sand. This not only minimizes the damage to the 
mould, but to pattern also ; the straining and rapping 
being always in proportion to the amount of taper given. 
See Draught. 

Tapping-bar. — A pointed iron bar for removing the 
clay bott when it is desired to let metal out of the cupola, 



Tapping-hole. 449 Tapping-hole. 

A set of bars for this purpose should include, first, a scoop- 
shaped tool about 3 feet long, with which to remove all 
superfluous clay from the orifice of the tap-hole before the 
final impression is made, with a longer one having a point, 
the idea being to clean all the clay out of the spout with 
the scoop before the stream is permitted to run, and thus 
prevent its being carried down into the ladle. Besides 
these it is always prudent to have another of larger dimen- 
sions, made of steel and drawn to a square point; this 
should always be ready, along with a good sledge, in case 
the plug should congeal and require to be driven in. A 
large bar of common iron is useful, at times, for a thorough 
opening out of the hole during protracted heats. See 
BoTT-CLAY ; Tappii^g-hole ; Cupola. 

Tappiiig-liole is the hole provided at the bottom of 
the furnace through which the molten metal is allowed to 
run at intervals during the operation of melting. Ordi- 
narily, for the cupola, it is made new, along with the spout, 
for every cast. When it is time to form this hole, a round 
bar from 1 to 2 inches diameter, according to dimensions 
of cupola, is thrust into the burning fuel at the breast, 
taking care that it rests solid on the bottom, after which 
the breast-hole is rammed with sand and the bar with- 
drawn. The above is a general view of this operation, but 
it is well to observe some of the special features connected 
with it more particularly. In the first place, a short hole 
is always best, there being then less danger of the metal 
congealing in the tap-hole; this is accomplished by reduc- 
ing the brickwork of the lining inside the cupola at this 
part, and the length may be still further reduced by 
widening the orifice at the front until not more than 4 
inches of straight hole remains. This of course brings the 
bott end of the molten plug nearer to the molten iron 
inside the cupola, and thus prevents freezing. If the outer 



Tar. 450 Tar. 

edge of the tap-hole be made slightly funnel-shaped for 
about 2 inches in, there will be less difficulty in pressing in 
the bott than is experienced when the hole is parallel all 
the way through. This is all-important where all the 
metal the cupola will hold is allowed to gather in the 
bottom before it is tapped. An important feature in 
the bricked spout is that it provides a safe abutment for 
the breast, making it impossible for the inside pressure to 
force it back. If the cupola-daubing, tempered with fire- 
sand, be used in immediate contact with the bar when the 
tap-hole is being formed, and for the bed next the spout 
also, all possibility of shig forming at the tap-hole is obviated, 
the substances composing this daubing being too refractory 
to melt at that temperature. Let the first bott always be 
a long one, reaching well into the tap-hole, for reasons 
above described, and in order that it may be easily taken 
out when it is desired to make the first tap; make a hole 
through the bott, after it has been formed on the stick, 
and fill it with common black sand off the floor; by the 
time this has been pressed well into the tap-hole there 
remains little but sand to be removed — an easy operation. 
See Tapping-bar; Bott-clay; Cupola; Breast; Spout. 

Tar. — A viscid liquid, usually from brown to black in 
color, obtained in the destructive distillation of organic 
matters. Wood-tar is obtained in the manufacture of 
wood vinegar, and yields, on repeated fractional distil- 
lations, creosote, paraffin e, picamar, etc. Stock holm -tar 
is obtained in the same manner from roots and other 
useless parts of resinous pines. Coal-tar comes from the 
destructive distillation of coal in the manufacture of 
coal-gas, and when distilled yields carbolic acid, cresylic 
alcohol, etc. ; also the liquid hydrocarbons benzol, toluol, 
etc.; the solid hydrocarbons paraffine, napthaline, and the 
compounds coridine, piciline, aniline, etc. See Pitch. 



Tartaric Acid. 451 Technical Education. 

Tartaric Acid. — An organic acid found in grapes, 
the tamarind, unripe berries of the mountain ash; and in 
small quantity in some other plants. In grape-juice it is 
present as a bitartrate of potash or cream of tartar, and it 
forms on the insides of wine-casks as a hard crust. The 
acid is obtained from the bitartrate by the action of chalk 
and sulphuric acid. When pure, its crystals are colorless 
and transparent, and in dry air they remain permanent. 
Mixed with bicarbonates of the alkalies it forms the soda- 
powder for effervescing drinks. When heated to redness 
in a covered crucible it forms the mixture of carbon and 
carbonate" of potash known in the laboratory as llachflux. 
When it is calcined with twice its weight of water, white 
flux is formed. See Flux. 

Tecliiiical Education for tlie Moulder. — We 

are told that technical education has for its object the 
traiuiug of persons in the arts and sciences that underlie 
the practice of some trade or profession, and embraces all 
kinds of instruction that have direct reference to the career 
a person is following or preparing to follow. 

Owing to the gradual breaking up of the apprenticeship 
system, the ranks of the skilled foundrymen have been 
woefully reduced, and must continue to be indifferently 
recruited from among the foreign workmen who arrive 
here, if something be not done at once to check the evil. 
The question naturally arises at this crisis. Will the techni- 
cal schools furnish the remedy? 

A thorough apprenticeship means such instruction in the 
trade as will give the young man an intelligent knowledge 
of all its branches; but this means that he shall be gradu- 
ally advanced, step by step, and receive special instruction 
and practice in each department — a system entirely at vari- 
ance with what are now considered to be the best means 
for rapid production. 



Technical Education. 453 Technical Education. 

Under tlie old regime the boy received the fullest share 
of attention from his so-called "master," and it was rea- 
sonable to expect that he would be taught all that it was 
possible to teach, if the true spirit of the indenture were 
carried out. The ^' master " was bound to teach the boy 
all of his trade, omitting nothing. Under such circum- 
stances every detail of the craft was learned, and on the 
termination of the contract he who was the obedient ap- 
prentice rightfully became the competent journeyman. 

If we look carefully into the subject we shall discover that 
production on a large scale has been the means of inaugurat- 
ing a new system of dividing labor. Now, this system works 
advantageously to the employer, because, keeping a boy con- 
stantly on one particular branch of work, he naturally 
becomes more expert, and the total output of his work is 
proportionately increased thereby. The result of this new 
order of things has been to limit the boy's ideas of mould- 
ing to that particular part upon which lie has spent his 
effort, to the exclusion of the greater part of what consti- 
tutes the full and legal measure of a journeyman's knowl- 
edge of the trade. In other words, he is launched into the 
business world a thoroughly incompetent moulder ; and 
there are to-day hundreds of such graduating in the large 
pump, architectural, and stove coi-porations, in the found- 
ries of which boys are kept at one job throughout the 
whole course of their servitude. 

This apparently unpreventable condition of things has, 
more than any other cause, created the necessity for tech- 
nical education of a kind that will, if possible, not only 
train the minds of our youth in the arts and sciences 
underlying their trade, but also practically make good the 
deficiencies of such an incomplete apprenticeship. 

The difficulties in obtaining a sound technical education 
are, we admit, very great; and it would be unreasonable to 
expect that the theoretical and practical could ever attain 



Technical Education. 453 Teclinical Education. 

to the highest degree of excellence in the one individual. 
The requirements in each case are necessarily of a differ- 
ent order, each demanding special and distinct lines of 
tlionght and action— for wliich reason the likelihood of such 
a union is rendered very doubtful. It must be conceded, 
however, that to tlie acknowledged advantage of a techni- 
cal training, as affecting the moulders themselves and the 
welfare of the foundry generally, we must add the certain 
improvement that must take place in the work produced, 
resulting from the superior and better-trained intelligence 
of those who would be benefited by such instruction. 

Some writers have been uncharitable enough to suggest 
that this superior knowledge, once gained, would generate 
in the workman a dislike for the ruder and more active 
parts of his trade. The writer of this hastens to correct 
all such ill-timed and unwise conclusions. We have always 
found the opposite to obtain in every instance: the greater 
the intelligence of the workman, the more diligent he be- 
comes. His superior knowledge imparts a stimulus to the 
efforts he puts forth; and the result of his labors, being 
manifestly in advance of his less intelligent fellow-crafts- 
men, meets with substantial and well-merited approval. 
This, of course, is the legitimate reward, and constitutes a 
fitting accompaniment to the inner satisfaction he enjoys. 
But, rest assured, the moulder possessing these superior 
attainments will not long remain in the ranks: he will un- 
doubtedly be called into higher spheres of usefulness, where 
opportunities will be afforded for a fuller and more effec- 
tive display of his talents. 

The fact that it is a matter of some diiBculty to obtain 
competent foremen for some of the nifimmoth foundries 
now being erected is made more apparent every day. In 
order that there should be nothing lacking in the manage- 
ment of such concerns, proprietors have in many instances 
been compelled to engage the services of an educated 



Technical Education. 454 Technical Edncation. 

superinteudent, wliose chief business is to overlook the 
foundry goneniUy, and see tliat every action of the more 
active foreman is directed in channels that run in har- 
mony with known physical laws. 

Why the moulders of to-day are incompetent for such 
positions is attributable to two causes — the first being the 
altered condition under which foundries are now being 
conducted, rendering it simply impossible for the ordinary 
workman to acquaint himself with all the details connected 
with the trade. The second cause will be discovered to 
be a natural result of the rude awakening experienced in 
the foundry interest generally to the fact that they were 
wretchedly behind every other branch of the iron industry 
in the application of modern improvements, mechanical 
and otherwise, and in their pardonable haste to redeem 
themselves appliances have been added in such number 
and kind and with such precipitancy as to change the 
nature of things in the foundry altogether. 

The suddenness of these late innovations has been almost 
bewildering in its effect upon the old systems of manage- 
ment; but if, during the time this forced exodus of old- 
fogyism was taking place, the foreman had been supple- 
menting his daily shop practice with evening instruction 
in some well-conducted technical school, there is no doubt 
that he would have been equal to the emergency, as the 
knowledge there obtained of the new requirements would 
have qualified him to adequately fill the position, even with 
the increased responsibilities consequent in the changes 
spoken of. 

We regret to notice that (excepting one or two noble 
examples) as yet there does not seem to have been any 
genuine effort to make the foundry department in most 
of the existing schools equal to the requirements. We 
need never expect these schools to give the requisite in- 
struction for overcoming the difficulties above described 



Technical Education. 455 Technical Education. 

while the i)reseiit S3'stem of clioosiiig instructors is main- 
tained. The hitter-mentioned dignitciries are, as a rule, 
very deficient in all that pertains to a correct knowl- 
edge of founding; nor need we wonder at this when we 
consider that the salaries offered for such instructors aie 
usually much below the remuneration a good journeyman 
moulder receives at the foundry. The sooner this phase 
of the subject is thoroughly investigated by the authorities 
in these matters the better it will inevitably be for all con- 
cerned. 

We have reason to believe that, if more latitude were 
given the professors in selecting instructors of founding, 
a much better state of things would prevail. They would 
naturally look about for the most suitable person, and offer 
such inducement as would be likely to secure the Avorthiest 
men for candidates. As matters appear to stand at pres- 
ent, the trustees of these institutions, who, we may sur- 
mise, are as a rule unacquainted with the actual require- 
ments for such a position, allow feelings of prejudice and 
mistaken notions of economy to prevail; and as a conse- 
quence, instructors are appointed without reference to 
ca23acity, their chief recommendation being the diminutive 
compensation claimed for such valuable (?) services. 

Foundry instructors should be unmistakably acknowl- 
edged masters of the art of founding; and their education 
should, at least, measure up to a standard that will enable 
them to explain in an intelligible manner every operation 
involved in the production of all kinds of castings, as well 
as the concomitant qualities of an executive order. The 
moulder whose career has been a marked success in the 
foundry, and who has graduated in the sciences directly 
bearing on his trade at one of the schools, is undoubtedly 
one of the very best candidates for the position of in- 
structor of founding at the technical schools; and none 
of the very questionable reasons above mentioned should 



Technical Education. 456 Technical Education. 

be allowed to operate against tlie appointment of such 
candidates. 

This degree of qualification can only be attained by men 
who, having realized the necessity of such attainments, 
have diligently studied the theoretical as well as practical 
part of their trade. It is in this very particular that the 
present technical-school system offers perhaps the best 
opportunity yet known for the asjoiring founder to advance 
himself. 

A highly reprehensible feature in some of these institu- 
tions is the placing of one person to instruct in two or 
more departments. To expect that one- teacher, no matter 
how extensively read he may be in the text-books, can cor- 
rectly teach several trades is preposterous. Such a system, 
if persisted in, must assuredly result in failure and disgrace. 
The engineer, no matter how profound and extended his 
general knowledge may be, would naturally shrink from 
the task of instructing a moulder in all the niceties and 
perplexing phases connected with the art of founding, as 
would also the intelligent boiler-maker, if he were asked 
to instruct a class in modelling; and yet it is a fact that 
such impossibilities are attempted, with what results we 
may readily infer. 

We confess to being somewhat amused when we read 
and hear the constant complaint about "the inaccuracies 
of the average moulder ; " but we happen to know that the 
slipshod methods of working, so prevalent in some places, 
is mainly owing to the fact that ignorance of the real 
necessities of the foundry on the part of the management 
has tended to the withholding of such appliances as would 
insure the accuracy looked for. Consequently, for lack of 
encouragement, the moulder has been forced to invent 
some makeshift for the occasion; hence it is common to 
hear the expression, ^^ Anything will do for the foundry." 

The spirit of contempt for foundry needs and conveni- 



Technical Education. 457 Teclinical Education. 

ences has at last received its death-blow in the manufacto- 
ries, as we have endeavored to show; but, strange to say, it 
has again risen phoenix-like in the schools — the very last 
place we should have expected to find it. Pass through the 
several departments of the general order of technical 
schools, and you will find that the equipment is on a grand 
scale for almost every section except the foundry. The 
engine-room is a model of perfection, as it ought to be ; 
the fitting, turning, and general machine-rooms are ele- 
gantly provided with the most modern machinery ; the 
forging department has all that could be desired to make 
it of real service, while the carpentry and other wood- 
working sections are lacking in nothing to make instruc- 
tion effective. Last, but by no means least in importance, 
is the foundry, where we find almost everything narrowed 
down to a mere shadow of what ought to exist in this 
department if it is to be of any practical benefit what- 
ever. 

The young men from our foundries, who are anxious to 
supplement their daily practice with such instruction as 
might very readily be given in these schools, are instantly 
provoked to laughter when they first contemplate the 
meagre and insufficient means usually provided for illus- 
trating the art of founding — in some instances not going 
beyond the antiquated sand-tub of our respected fore- 
fathers, with a few small flasks which bear no resemblance 
whatever to those used in actual practice. This, in con- 
junction with the very indifferent cupola arrangements, 
constitutes in some schools what is considered sufficient 
for foundry instruction. Such means are undoubtedly in- 
adequate for any other purpose than to furnish occasional 
amusement to the general order of students, who have not 
the remotest idea of ever engaging in the business of 
founding. 

These excellent institutions may be made invaluable to 



Technical Education. 458 Technical Education. 

the mould ei% if the regularly constituted authorities can be 
brought to grasp the situation. No general ti-eatmeiit will 
answer his case fully; there must be a special and clearly 
defined course of instruction, excluding all subjects that 
have no direct bearing on the subject of founding. This 
special education should include chemistry, because by its 
aid much of that which is enigmatical in foundry prac- 
tice, and which to the unlearned is still a positive mys- 
tery, can be made plain and intelligible. A knowledge of 
this science would so change the order of things as to 
make what has heretofore b3en a monotonous drudgery an 
extremely agreeable occupation. Another important result 
of this increased intelligence would be a sensible diminu- 
tion of the failures and loss incident to practice founded 
on nothing more than the merest cliance. 

The need for a more extended application of the science 
of chemistry is constantly being forced on the founder in 
some way or other. Chemists whose occupation has been in 
line with the foundry are now telling us that the methods 
usually adopted for ascertaining the nature and quality of 
pig iron are untrustworthy, and must ultimately give place 
to the more scientific mode of analysis. The latter method, 
they claim, will enable the founder to determine the mixt- 
ure from the analysis furnished by the makers, before it 
is charged into the cupola, to a certainty; because, having 
a knowledge of the properties common to the several ele- 
ments present, he will be able to blend the several brands 
in such proportions as will produce the desired qualities in 
resultant mixture. 

A practical demonstration of this and other theories 
could be readily made in the technical schools by succes- 
sive mixtures melted in crucibles; the formula for each 
mixture could be changed, and a record kept of the changes 
caused by the varying quantities of the several elements 
entering into each test. The physical results, such as 



Technical Education. 459 Technical Education. 

hardness, fluidity, cliill, shrinkage, strength, etc., could be 
satisfactorily determined by Keep's Testing-machine — a 
knowledge of the use of which should be taught in every 
school of tecllnolog3^ 

Some natural philosophy as well as mathematics must 
enter into this special course, in order that the laws relat- 
ing to combustion, pressures, and numerous other kindred 
subjects, but very imperfectly understood by the great 
army of moulders, may be more generally known among 
them. All this will tend to sharpen the inventive facul- 
ties, and give zest and energy to minds which must other- 
wise remain comparatively dormant. 

While it must be admitted that the general equipment 
for the technical school cannot possibly equal in magnitude 
or variety that required for large foundries, it cannot be 
denied that to be of any practical service whatever all 
such equipment should contain all the elements suitable 
for a practical demonstration and thorough illustration of 
every department of the trade by the instructor. 

The cupola, for instance, should not be smaller than 24 
inches inside diameter, plain in design, but provided with 
the best furnishings in ordinary use. The reasons for 
suggesting a plain cupola are that more of that kind are 
in use than of any other, and comparisons with improved 
specimens can be more readily made; also, that they are 
better for experimental purposes. 

Instruments for ascertaining the amount of friction, press- 
ure, etc., in blast-pipes and all the phenomena connected 
with melting should be provided, and their use fully ex- 
plained by the instructor. The cupola would be the place 
where the instructor could in the most effective manner 
teach sound views, based upon actual practice and experi- 
ment, regarding the economy of fuel; what is meant by 
perfect combustion, and how it is brought about in the 
cupola; the importance of supplying the exact quantity of 



Teciinical Education. 4:60 Technical Education. 

air to secure best results, and how to correctly measure the 
same, etc. 

The reverberatory furnace need not be of greater ca- 
pacity than is absokitely necessary for demonstrating its 
use for the purpose of melting cast iron and brass. The 
different principles of melting in direct contact with the 
fuel, as in the cupola, and of melting by exposing the metal 
to the action of the flame, as in the reverberatory, could 
be effectively illustrated and explained by actual practice. 
Subsequent tests, chemical and physical, would reveal dif- 
ferences caused by the two methods of melting, as well as 
furnish practice and experience in a branch of the business 
which has for some time been considerably undervalued 
and neglected. 

Crucible-melting for brass, cast iron, and steel should be 
taught thoroughly. For brass an ordinary air-furnace of 
the common type should be provided, in order to clearly 
demonstrate the different modes of melting with a natural 
draught and a forced one, the latter being the style of 
furnace to be provided for melting cast iron and steel. 
The common brass-furnace with natural draught may be 
converted into a blast-furnace suitable for melting cast iron 
or steel in crucibles by simply making the ash-pit door 
air-tight and introducing the blast therein at a pressure of 
about three ounces. This would serve to illustrate the 
ordinary class of crucible-melting, and should be sup- 
plemented by a regenerating-furnace of the latest type, 
suitable for exhibiting the improved methods of obtaining 
extreme heats from inferior fuels, etc. The uses to which 
the crucible can be put for experimental purposes are too 
numerous to mention here, and no instructor who under- 
stands this thoroughly will fail to make good use of the 
opportunities they offer. 

If moulding is to be taught in the technical school, 
castings must be made undoubtedly of such kind and 



Technical Education. 461 Technical Education. 

dimensions as will best serve to bring out distinctly all the 
underlying principles which govern the art. Objections 
are made to this view of the matter on the ground of ex- 
pense principally, but this should not be allowed to prevail 
if we are earnest in our desires to see this great object suc- 
ceed. Here, again, we notice that no complaint reaches 
the surface on that score about any other department than 
the foundry. It cannot be that the objectors are so igno- 
rant of affairs as to think the business of founding of 
minor importance in the great metal industries. Every 
day furnishes evidence conclusive that the foundry ranks 
as high, if not higher, than any other department in im- 
portance, and that under intelligent and skilful direction 
it may be made even more valuable than has yet been 
dreamed of. 

Allow the foundry instruction in these schools to occupy 
the position it is justly entitled to, and we shall not be long 
in discovering that our fears were without foundation. 
Our young men will immediately avail themselves of the 
opportunities offered for obtaining information beyond 
that afforded in the daily routine of the shop. They will 
attend the night-schools, because, owing to the diversified 
exercises chosen, there will always be something novel and 
instructive to attract the attention and secure their steady 
attendance upon the studies enforced. 

Suitable objects for the purpose of illustrating the meth- 
ods of moulding in loam, green-sand, dry sand, and core 
making of all descriptions could be readily obtained from 
the neighboring manufactories and city works of castings 
of a duplicate character in constant demand. Drawings 
could be furnished by said firms to which patterns, core- 
boxes, and sweeps could be made by the students in that 
branch under direction of their own instructor, aided by 
the instructor of founding. The pattci-ns would furnish 
admirable practice of a genuine kind, and when complete 



Technical Education. 462 Technical Education. 

would be moulded from in the foundry. The castings 
could then be bored, turned, or milled in the machine 
department to drawings supplied and afterwards delivered 
and paid for in the regular way of trade, thus furnisliing 
serviceable practice to several branches of students, as well 
as being a source of revenue to the institution. 

Take, for iustance, an ordinary sewer-head for the city, 
for which castings there is always a steady demand. These 
castings could be made very serviceable as examples for 
illustration. A suitable set of flasks should be made to 
mould it in green-sand vertically, the core to be made 
in the pattern used. The same pattern could be also used 
as an example of bedding-in, using a cope only to cover 
with. Another pattern could be made in halves for the 
same casting with flasks to suit for casting horizontally. 
In this case a dry-sand core could be used, also a green -sand 
one on a horizontal arbor. Lastly, the centre spindle and 
sweep-boards could be brought into requisition for mould- 
ing this casting, exclusive of pattern or flasks, forming both 
the outer and inner surfaces with bricks and loam. 

The above-described examples, simple as they seem, 
afford scope for a considerable amount of ingenuity, and 
almost every branch of the moulder's art is called into 
practice to produce these castings in the several ways de- 
scribed. 

The instructor should be qualified to teach all the 
branches of moulding enumerated above; and most as- 
suredly his sins will find him out if he is in any sense 
deficient, there being no one at hand able to furnish the 
talent wherewith to cover his own shortcomings — some- 
thing of altogether too frequent occurrence in the foun- 
dries. 

The importance of having men of ability and judgment 
as instructors will be apparent, even to the uninitiated, 
when they consider that all the necessary tools and their 



Technical Education. 463 Technical Education. 

appiirtenuiices requisite for these dissimilar openitious 
must be devised by him in such variety and design as will 
not only answer present needs, but serve also as standard 
models of thei]- kind, to be used for the purpose of illus- 
tration when it is desired to inculcate high-class methods 
of construction in the minds of the students. 

Another very suitable object Avhich might be chosen as 
a study in all the branches of moulding is a twenty-f(nir-inch 
steam-cylinder, to be obtained from one of the large pump 
and engine works. This casting, in addition to the oppoi-- 
tunities presented for moulding under altered circum- 
stances, offers the further inducement that subsequent 
boring and finishing in the machine department would 
reveal at once any imperfections arising from either faulty 
moulds or unsuitable iron. The construction of such a 
mould entirely in green-sand, to be cast horizontally, would 
call forth some very excellent practice in the arrange- 
ments for pouring, in order to obtain clean castings in 
the bore; also to practically demonstrate the greater nicety 
and more delicate workmanship displayed in producing 
castings this way than are required for the same job in dry 
sand. 

The latter useful and effective style of moulding can be 
very ably illustrated by such a cylinder. Diiferent modes 
of finishing and closing, in fact all the chief operations 
demanded for dry-sand work of greater magnitude, may by 
this one illustration be made exceedingly plain. 

As in dry sand so in loam: the requisite equipment for 
the production of such a casting in loam could be made so 
as to represent a facsimile of that required for moulding 
the largest cylinders for the government cruisers. 

Firms making a specialty of ship-propellers would be 
willing to accept castings produced at these institutions 
at their market value; consequently this very interesting 
and highly instructive phase of the moulder's art could be 



Technical Education. 4G4 Technical Education. 

learned more thoroughly in the school than in the foundry. 
The sizes chosen for this purpose might range from two 
feet to five feet in diameter, with varying pitches to 
accommodate the obliging firm, who would regulate them 
according to the stock generally carried. Here, again, we 
have unmistakably good practice for the pattern-making 
department in providing the necessary moulding-boxes with 
the single-wing attachment for moulding small wheels in 
green-sand sectionally — a method which exacts the nicest 
manipulation and requires considerable practice before 
perfection is attained. For casting wheels in dry sand the 
instructor would teach how to construct the requisite sets of 
flasks for moulding from a fixed spindle and one wing at a 
time, in flasks secured to a foundation-plate, using separate 
copes for the upper side of the blade. Practice of this class 
develops the constructive faculties, and expands the mind 
beyond the limits of an ordinary moulder's experience. 

The larger wheels would make good examples for loam- 
work, for, in addition to the practice afforded in manipu- 
latii]g moulds with the spindle and sweep-board, the right 
use of the angle-board could be effectively explained. A 
5-foot wheel would be large enough for a practical illustra- 
tion of every principle involved in producing one 15 feet 
diameter by the same method. 

The value of these instructions in propeller-moulding 
would be considerably enhanced by procuring an old cast- 
ing about 3 feet 6 inches diameter, from which to mould one 
occasionally in green-sand: by bedding in the sand with the 
upper tips of the blades level with the floor, formiiig the 
joints at each blade, and lifting out the hanging-sand with 
lifters hooked on the bars of an ordinary 4-foot-square flat 
cope. This is a very useful class of experience, and much 
needed almost everywhere. ' 

The above-described methods of moulding propeller- 
wheels serve as excellent illustrations of the several modes 



Technical Education. 465 Teclinical Educatien. 

of moulding of whicli tliey are representative, the first 
being a specimen of sectional moulding applicable to work 
other than wheels ; the second shows liow the centre 
spindle may become of almost universal use in producing 
certain classes of castings from a simple section of the 
whole pattern, commonly provided. The angle-board used 
for forming the blade in loam is a study in itself. Since 
its introduction for the above purpose, very many similar 
objects are thus formed by the moulder, and considerable 
pattern-making saved, as well as cost for the mechanical 
contrivances formerly used. For instance, grooved drums, 
formerly moulded in loam by revolving two or three grooves 
from top to bottom of the outside cope by means of a 
central threaded spindle, are now formed by one revolution 
of a full-length sweep-board travelling on a guide corre- 
sponding to one turn of the thread desired. 

A 12-inch ordinary socket-pipe 10 feet long, such as are 
used for city purposes, could without difficulty be obtained. 
By moulding these in the several ways to be described, 
considerable knowledge of an extraordinary kind is to be 
gained. By preparing a set of cylindrical flasks or casings, 
made purposely in three sections lengthwise, the whole sys- 
tem of moulding extra-long hydraulic cylinders and rams, 
guns, etc., may be conveniently explained. Opportunities 
are here presented for a nice adjustment of the sections by 
such effective means as will insure a true vertical mould 
free of seams when all are closed together. Some very good 
practice may be introduced here; and along with many 
other schemes for obtaining the mould in these flasks, let 
a short plug be drawn through all the sections, together and 
separate, forming the head and socket, with loose pieces, 
or in any other way which the ingenuity of the instructor 
may suggest. This would, of course, be a dry-sand mould, 
and must have a loam-core struck on a barrel made for the 
occasion — a class of core-making too little practised outside 



Technical Education. 466 Technical Education. 

of the pipe-foundries nowadays. This mould, when dried 
and closed, must be cast vertically. 

Another way is to make a full pattern in halves, with a 
half core-box and sweep for striking off the upper side of 
core. In this case half-flasks should be used for moulding 
in green-sand and casting horizontally; the core to be 
formed in the aforesaid box on a full-length cast arbor in . 
green-sand also. This will furnish excellent practice in 
another class of core-making too long neglected. 

The same flasks must be fitted at the ends with parallels 
and bearings for carrying a centre spindle horizontally 
with which to sweep out each half of the mould in plastic 
material, exclusive of the pattern. The cores in this in- 
stance may be made in dry-sand halves and jointed, to vary 
the method somewhat. As this mould is prepared for 
drying, it may be cast alternately in a horizontal and verti- 
cal position, the latter method calling for some special 
arrangement for hoisting into a vertical position and lower- 
ing in the pit, as well as serving to illustrate the different 
modes of gating and securing the core. 

Some suitable specimens of hollow ware should also be 
introduced into these schools. There are thousands of 
moulders who are to day as ignorant of the processes con- 
nected with this kind of moulding as were the Dutchmen 
who failed in making the first pot at Ooalbrookdale in the 
year 1709. The flasks used for this purpose are ingenious 
and suggestive, and the very neat manipulations of the 
practised hollow-ware moulder are of a kind calculated to 
infuse new life into the somewhat slow and slipshod ways 
of the ordinary workman who attempts to make this par- 
ticular class of work. 

The eye and hand of the ambitious loam -moulder might 
receive training of a high order by assiduous practice on 
some object similar to a Y pipe, or any other analogous 
surface of ever- varying dimensions and constant change of 



Technical Education. 467 Technical Education. 

curve — something possessing a surface impossible to form 
except by the hand, assisted by gauges and templates. 
Exercises of a similar kind may be given on green-sand sur- 
faces by the use of forming-strips and sweeps, with a final 
smoothing over of the tools. These exercises need not 
necessarily be practised on dumb moulds; the more ad- 
vanced could be taught to form surfaces corresponding 
to sketches given, such surfaces to receive the treatment 
necessary for the purpose of casting metal thereon. 

The changes lately brought about by the introduction of 
a profuse display of fine-art work in modern buildings, 
most of which it is now desired to produce in cast iron, has 
created a demand for moulders with some experience in 
such work; and because these castings have hitherto been 
chiefly made in metals other than cast iron, it has been found 
difficult to supply this demand, for the simple reason that 
fine-art work in cast iron requires to be made in material 
to which the ordinary worker in bronze and other alloys 
is unaccustomed. There is no doubt that this demand will 
continue, and the subject should receive immediate atten- 
tion in the technical schools, where special classes could be 
taught the entire process of statue- and figure-founding, 
including the cire-perdue and other modes of procedure 
connected with taking casts in metal and plaster, confin- 
ing the study as near as possible to such classes of woi-k 
as would be likely to find its way into our iron and brass 
foundries. 

It will be very evident to those who are at all interested 
in foundry instruction at the technical schools that no in- 
stitution of the kind should be without a modern moulding- 
machine of acknowledged merit. This is a comparatively 
new study, and is claiming the attention of founders more 
to-day than it has ever done in the past, simply because 
there has been a nearer approach made to hand-manipula- 
tion by the introduction of devices which have for their 



Teeming. 468 Telegraph wire. 

object the correct ramming of the moulds within the 
flasks. Some of these devices are automatic and trust- 
worthy, and the quantity as well as quality of work accom- 
plished in a given time bears unmistakable evidence to the 
justice of their claims to universal recognition and adop- 
tion wherever large numbers of duplicate castings of a cer- 
tain kind are in active demand. 

A good machine with stripping-plate attachment would 
be a valuable acquisition to the school ; the minds of the 
students could be exercised in discovering methods for 
overcoming difficulties presented when the joining surfaces 
are irregular, and in framing schemes for automatically 
delivering such projections as are oblique to the general 
surfaces of the pattern. 

It is safe to say that no school of technology has been 
more successful than the Stevens Institute, from which 
place have been graduated a large number of engineers 
whose acknowledged ability has fully proved what can be 
done when competent instructors and judicious manage- 
ment are allowed full scope. Is it too much to ask that 
the moulder be allowed similar opportunities for distin- 
guishing himself? 

Teeming, — This term is synonymous with pourmg, 
and is principally employed by steel-melters to signify the 
act of pouring metal out of the crucible. Pits in which 
the ingot-moulds are vertically arranged, for better con- 
venience in casting the steel with crucibles, are by them 
invariably termed teeming-lioles. Many moulders also em- 
ploy this term as the equivalent of pouring. 

Teetor Moulding-machine.— See Moulding- 

MACHIJS^E. 

Telegraph and Telephone Wire.— These wires, 
when made from the ordinai-y bronzes, Avere found to be 



\ 



Temper. 4G9 • Temperature. 

insufficiently conductive. A silicon-bronze has now been 
substituted, which is equal in strength to the best phos- 
phor-bronze, much superior as a conductor of electricity, 
and much lighter. The alloy, when produced from the 
prepared compound, contains, in telephone wire, copper 
99.94, tin 0.03, silicon 0.02. For telegraph wire, copper 
97.12, tin 1.14, silicon 0.05, zinc 1.G2, with iron a trace in 
each. The compound which forms the base for this mix- 
ture is obtained by fusing the copper in a lead crucible 
with carbonate of soda, fluorsilicate of potassium, chloride 
of soda, chloride of calcium, and glass. The oxides are by 
this means absorbed by the acid flux of the silica. Silicon- 
bronze thus obtained has about 70 per cent of the electrical 
conductivity of copper, while phosphor-bronze has but 30, 
and steel something over 10. 

Temper. — The operation of moistening and mixing 
sand and clay to the right consistency for moulding, is in 
some localities termed tempering. 

The hardness of steel is changed by the process of tem- 
pering. See Tempering. 

Temper is also the name of a pewterer's alloy. See Pew- 
terer's Temper; Pewter. 

Temperature is a term that implies a definite degree 
of sensible heat, the thermometer being the standard of 
comparison. The expansion of bodies by heat furnishes 
the means for measuring changes of temperature. Liquids 
which are easily affected are used for measuring variations 
in moderate temperatures. Solids, which require a higher 
degree of heat to expand them perceptibly, are used for 
measuring variations in elevated temperatures ; therefore 
we have the thermometer for the former, the pyrometer 
answering in the latter case. The thermometer is an in- 
strument in which a liquid, usually mercury, is employed 



Temperature. 470 Temperature. 

for ascertaiuing variations in moderate temperatures, and 
consists of a tube closed at one end, the other end termi- 
nating in a bulb. The bulb and a portion of the tube con- 
tain mercury, and, as the air is all excluded before sealing 
the tube, the space above the mercury is vacuum. The 
mercury expands by heat and rises in the tube. A fall in 
the temperature contracts the mercury and it falls. A 
graduated scale beside the tube measures the rise and fall 
of the mercury accurately. Fahrenheit's scale is divided 
thus : The space between freezing and boiliug is divided 
into 180 degrees, but instead of starting at the freezing- 
point, as in Eeaumur's and the centigrade, Fahrenheit 
determined by the aid of snow and ice to find tlie lowest 
possible cold and make that zero. By this means he got 
the mercury down to 32° below freezing-point, and com- 
menced to count from there. Hence on Fahrenheit's scale 
freezing occurs at 32°, the boiling-point, at 212°; when, 
therefore, the mercury stands at or zero, it is 32 degrees 
below the freezing-point. In Eeaumur's scale the freezing- 
point is called 0, the boiling-point 80. In the centigrade 
the freezing-point is 0, the boiling-point 100. When ther- 
mometer degrees are mentioned, it is usual to indicate the 
scale referred to by their initial letter. Thus: 50° F. 
means 50 degrees on Fahrenheit's scale ; 20° R., 20 degrees 
on Reaumur's; and 10° C, 10 degrees centigrade. 

The following are rules for mutually reducing degrees of 
temperature — Reaumur, Centigrade, Fahrenheit. 

Reamur Degrees to Degrees Centigrade. 

Divide by 4, aud add product to number of degrees given. 
Example: 56° h- 4 = 14°; 56° + 14° = 70°. 
Reaumur Degrees to Degrees Fahrenheit. 
Above freezing. — Multiply by 9, divide by 4, and subtract 32° from 
the product. 
Example : 20° X 9 -^ 4 -i- 32° = 77°. 
Beloic freezing. — Multiply by 9, divide by 4, and subtract 32°. 
Example : - 20° X 9 -^ 4 - 32° = -- 13°. 



tempering. 471 Templet. 

Centigrade Degrees to Degrees Fahrenheit. 
Above freezing. — Multiply by 9, divide by 5, and add 32° to prod- 
uct. 
Example : 25° X 9 -^ 5 + 32° = 77°. 
Below freezing. — Multiply by 9, divide by 5, then take the dif- 
ference between 32° and the result so obtained. 
Example: - 30° X 9 ^ 5 = 54°; 54° - 32° = 22°. 
Centigrade Degrees to Degrees Reaumur. 
Divide by 5 and subtract product from number of degrees given. 
Example : 70^ -^ 5 = 14°; 70° - 14° = 56°. 
To Reduce Fahrenheit Degrees to Degrees Centigrade. 
Wlieti temperature given is above zero. — Subtracti32°, multiply by 5, 
and divide the product by 9. 
Example : 77° - 32° X 5 -v- 9 = 25°. 
When temperature given is below zero. — Add 32°, and proceed as 
above. 
Example: _ 22° + 32° X 5 -4- 9 = - 30°. 
Fahrenheit Degrees to Degrees Reaumur. 
Above zero. — Subtract 32°, multiply by 4, and divide product by 9. 

Example : 77° - 32° X 4 ^ 9 = 20°. 
Below zero.— Add 32°, and proceed as above. 
Example : - 13° + 32° X 4 -r- 9 = - 20°. 

{See table on next page.) 

Tempering. — When steel is suddenly cooled from a 
high temperature it becomes hard and brittle, but when 
slowly cooled it is very tough and pliable. The process of 
bringing st^el to the several degrees of hardness for use in 
the arts and manufactures is called temijering. This term 
is usually applied to mean a combination of the hardening 
and annealing processes. According to the temperature to 
which the hardened steel has been heated before annealing, 
so is the diminution of the hardness affected by the process. 
See Steel; Restoring Burnt Steel; Dies, To Harden; 
Annealing. 

Teini>let. — All formers, sweeps, strickles, etc., are in 
some foundries improperly called teni2)lates. The template 



Temperature. 



473 



Temperature, 



EQUIVALENT TEMPERATURES— REAUMUR, CENTI- 
GRADE, AND FAHRENHEIT. 



Reau. 


Cent. 


Fahr. 


Reau. 


Cent. 


Fahr. 


80 


100. 


212. 


28 


35. 


95. 


79 


98.75 


209.75 


27 


33.75 


92.75 


78 


97.5 


207.5 


20 


32.5 


90.5 


77 


96.25 


205.25 


25 


31.25 


88.25 


76 


95. 


203. 


24 


30. 


86. 


75 


93.75 


200.75 


23 


28.75 


83.75 


74 


92.5 


198.5 


22 


27.5 


81.5 


73 


91.25 


196.25 


21 


26.25 


79.25 


72 


90. 


194. 


20 


25. 


77. 


71 


88.75 


191.75 


19 


23.75 


74.75 


70 


87.5 


189.5 


18 


22.5 


72.5 


69 


86.25 


187.25 


17 


21.25 


70.25 


68 


85. 


185. 


16 


20. 


68. 


67 


83.75 


182.75 


15 


18.75 


65.75 


66 


82.5 


180.5 


14 


17.5 


63.5 


65 


81.25 


178.25 


13 


16.25 


61.25 


64 


80. 


176. 


12 


15. 


59. 


63 


78.75 


173.75 


11 


13.75 


56.75 


62 


77.5 


171.5 


10 


12.5 


54.5 


61 


76.25 


169.25 


9 


11.25 


52.25 


60 


75. 


167. 


8 


10. 


50. 


59 


73.75 


164.75 


7 


8.75 


47.75 


58 


72.5 


162.5 


6 


7.5 


45.5 


57 


71.25 


160.25 


5 


6.25 


43.25 


56 


70. 


158. 


4 


5. 


41. 


55 


68.75 


155.75 


3 


3.75 


38.75 


54 


67.5 


153.5 


2 


2.5 


36.5 


53 


66.25 


151.25 


1 


1.25 


34.25 


52 


65. 


149. 





0. 


32. 


51 


63.75 


146.75 


1 


1.25 


29.75 


50 


62.5 


144.5 


2 


2.5 


27.5 


49 


61.25 


142.25 


3 


3.75 


25.25 


48 


60. 


140. 


4 


5. 


23. 


47 


58.75 


137.75 


5 


6.25 


20.75 


46 


57.5 


135.5 


6 


7.5 


18.5 


45 


56.25 


133.25 


7 


8.75 


16.25 


44 


55. 


131. 


8 


10. 


14. 


43 


53.75 


128.75 


9 


11.25 


11.75 


42 


52.5 


126.5 


10 


12.5 


9.5 


41 


51.25 


124.25 


11 


13.75 


7.25 


40 


50. 


122. 


12 


15. 


5. 


39 


48.75 


119.75 


13 


16.25 


2.75 


38 


47.5 


117.5 


14 


17.5 


0.5 


37 


46.25 


115.25 


15 


18 75 


1.75 


36 


45. 


113. 


16 


20. 


4. 


35 


43.75 


110.75 


17 


21.25 


6.25 


34 


42.5 


108.5 


18 


22.5 


8.5 


33 


41.25 


100.25 


19 


23.75 


10.75 


32 


40. 


104. 


20 


25. 


13. 


31 


38.75 


101.75 








30 


37.5 


99. 








29 


36.25 


97.25 









—See Pyrometer; Heat. 



Tenacity. 473 Testing-macMiies. 

is simply an outline, in wood or iron of the whole or part 
of a mould or pattern in course of construction, and serves 
to test the accuracy of the work as it progresses. A frame 
or hoard shaped to the outline of a pipe, with lines to mark 
off the true position and angle of the flanges, etc., or any 
other similarly devised guide, is a tempaet also. 

Tenacity. — It is easier to pull asunder a bar of lead 
than a bar of steel of equal dimensions. This proves that 
the molecules of some solids cohere more strongly than 
others. A solid is said to be rupUn^ed when it is thus forcibly 
pulled asunder, and the power that resists this rupture is 
called tenacity. If we find how much force is required to 
pull asunder rods of different solids having equal dimen- 
sions, we can then determine their relative tenacity. Te- 
nacity is also that quality of cohesiveness in bodies that 
causes them to adhere to other bodies, as glutinous, stick- 
iness, etc. See Cohesion; Adhesion; Strength of Ma- 
terials; Metals. 

Tensile Strength. — See Strength of Materials. 

Terne Plate are thin iron plates cleaned, and coated 
with tin by dipping into a molten bath of the latter metal. 
See Tinning. 

Terra-cotta. — This name is applied to figures, vases, 
t;itues, architectural decorations, etc., that have been cast 
or modelled in a compound of potter's-clay mixed with fine 
sand, pulverized potsherds, calcined flints, etc. These 
articles are burnt in the kiln after being dried in the air. 
Some of these productions resist the unfavorable influence 
of the weather much better than some stone. See Stone. 

Testing Machines. — The great variety of testing- 
machines now in the maiket are an evidence of their grow- 



Testing- machines. 474 Testing machines. 

ing importance. Wide-uwake foinidry-men eveiywhere 
realize the necessity for strict inspection of all the pig iron 
they purchase in order that their castings may be made to 
meet every requirement at the least possible cost. By 
means of the simplest of these macliines, a sample of pig 
iron can be tested and its quality determined with approxi- 
mate nearness in an incredibly short space of time, 
so that purchases need not be made blindfold as has 
been too frequently the case in the past. A more elaborate 
system of tests may be obtained by the use of Keep's test, 
which reveals every phase of a true test with the nicest ac- 
curacy: gradual load, impact, fluidity, tendency to curve, 
shrinkage, and deflection are at once determined by this 
machine in a manner truly astonishing. The Waterloo 
Transverse-testing Machine is arranged with the weighing- 
beam and system of multiplying levers, all tested and regu- 
lated in accord with the United States standard of weights 
at Washington, D.C , and delicately adjusted to weigh the 
strain exerted on the specimen. The power exerting the 
strain on test-piece is produced by a worm and gear. The 
best of materials are used, and the workmanship is first- 
class in every particular. 

The specimen in process of testing has one end resting 
upon an A-shaped piece of metal, the other end being sus- 
pended from the lower lever of the machine. 

The strain upon the test-piece is produced by turning a 
wheel below in front of the frame, which causes the stir- 
rup, which is located at the centre point of specimen, to 
bear down upon the same, and the strain thus produced is 
transmitted to the weighing-beam through the intermediate 
lever. 

The weighing-beam is kept in equipoise by shifting the 
poise, the power being applied simultaneously with the 
movement of the poise, and continuing the operation until 
the test is concluded. Care must be taken that the weigh- 



Ihicknessing. 475 Tied-core. 

ing-beam is balanced before the testing is begun or tlie 
test-piece in position. Additional standard weights are 
supplied to suspend on the small end of the weighing-beam, 
as occasion requires, to balance the strain up to the full 
strength of the test-specimen. 

This machine can be arranged to test longer specimens 
up to four or five feet, at extra cost. An indicator to show 
elasticity of specimens being tested can be added. See 
Trial Cast. 

Tliermoineter. — See Temperature. 

Tliicknessing^ is the mode of obtaining a cast in 
metal, or plaster, by applying a coating or thickness over 
one surface of mould, produced by the sweep, strickle, 
block, or model, from which the remaining surface is then 
obtained and the thickness removed. The space previously 
occupied by the thickness being filled with metal or plaster, 
constitutes the cast. See Backing-out; Kettles; Statue- 
founding. 

Three-high Rolls are employed for rolling light 
merchant-iron. They are a combination of three rolls in 
one pair of housings. The middle roll in the series drives 
the upper and lower ones in opposite directions, delivering 
the bar at one side, to be returned by simply changing from 
one side to the other of the middle roll without any rever- 
sal of motion. See Rolls. 

Three-part Flask.— See Flasks. 

Tied-core. — Two halves of dry-sand core bound to- 
gether with one or more strands of wires. The wire ends 
are made to overlap each other sufficient to make a twisted 



Tie-rods. 476 Tilt-hammer. 

junction. Similar fastenings are of great service on a 
small brick core that lias no binding-rings built in it. The 
wires may be wrapped round before roughing up; they are 
then hidden by the loam. See Bindikg-rings. 

Tie-rotls. — Rods of iron, used for stiffening unsup- 
ported portions of moulds and cores. Grates, or grids, make 
the most trustworthy supports, inasmuch as the stiffening 
influence is imparted in every direction. This can only be 
approximately accomplished by tie-rods with alternate layers 
at right angles to each other. See Core-iron; Grids. 

Tie-wire. — Wire of different sizes, used for tying cores 
with. This should always be annealed and of the best 
quality, as the connections are invariably made by twisting 
the ends together. Poor wire breaks during the operation, 
and not unfrequently have we seen the mould completely 
spoiled through a rupture occurring after all was closed 
and considered safe. See Tied-core. 

Tile. — Thin bricks, or plates of baked clay, differing in 
shape according to their use. They are employed for the 
roofs of buildings, also for pavements. Some finer kinds 
for the latter purpose are known as encmistic tiles. 

Tilted Steel is cemented steel made stronger by 
hammering under the tilt. See Cementation". 

Tilt-liaililiier.— Used for shingling, and also for 
working finished iron. It consists of a long lever, with 
hammer-head attached at one end, which is operated by a 
cam at the other. The fulcrum is placed nearest to the 
cam, which is generally a wheel with about a dozen projec- 
tions, called wipes. As tlie cam revolves, the short end of 
the lever is borne down by tlie wipes, lifting the hammer- 



Tin. 477 Tin. 

head until the wipe on tlie cam has cleared, when the 
hammer drops upon the work on the anvil. Each wipe in 
succession engages the lever, causing the hammer to rise 
and fall with considerable force and rapidity. 

Till. — This metal has been known from very early 
times, but its ores have been found in a few places only; 
the metallic tin is not found in nature. Chief among 
the European sources of tin are the mines in Cornwall, 
where it is found as tinstone. The Phoenicians and 
Romans obtained from these mines all the tin employed by 
them in the manufacture of bronze. Malacca, Borneo, and 
Mexico also yield tinstone. In the jDreparation of this 
metal the tinstone is crushed and washed, and the clean 
ore is then put into the reverberatory furnace along with 
fuel and a small portion of lime. By this means the oxide 
is reduced, and the liquid metal, togetlier with the slag, 
consisting of calcic silicate, falls to the lower j)art of the 
furnace. The blocks of tin thus obtained are still impure, 
and require further refining by gradually melting out the 
pure tin, leaving an impure alloy behind. The refined tin 
thus obtained is principally used for tin-plate, the remain- 
der being the block-tin of commerce. The manner of pro- 
ducing grain-tin is to plunge blocks of the metal into a tin- 
bath, where they are caused to assume a crystallized nature, 
after which they are either broken up with the hammei-, 
or allowed to fall from a great height. The long grains 
are caused by the latter process. 

Tin is a brilliant, silver-white metal, softer than gold, 
slightly ductile, and very malleable, as evidenced by the 
common tin-foil, which is no more than yoV^ ^^ ^^ i'^<^^^ 
thick. It melts at 442°. The peculiar cracking sound 
emitted when tin is bent is owing to the disturbance of 
its crystalline structure. Owing to its weak affinity for 
oxygen, it tarnishes but slightly on exposure to air or 



Tin. 478 Tin. 

moisture, and is therefore valuable for domestic utensils. 
It is this proi^erty that renders it so useful as a coating to 
prevent other metals from oxidizing. The common tin- 
ware is simply thin sheets of iron coated with this metal. 
Tin dissolves in hydrochloric acid. If this metal be 
heated beyond its melting-point, with access of air, it 
becomes converted into the binoxide, and burns with a 
brilliant white light. It is certainly one of the earliest 
known metals, as it enters into the composition of bronze, 
of which alloy many of the ancient statues, weapons, and 
tools were made. Most metals are made harder, whiter, 
and more fusible by tin. It forms the principal ingredient 
of Britannia metal, pewter, and many solders. The finest 
pewter is mainly composed of tin, with some temfer. See 
Pewter. 

Tin forms an amalgam with mercury, with which to 
silver mirrors and other objects. Tin-foil is placed on a 
flat slab, then covered with mei'cury, and the glass placed 
over it, when, weights being applied, the superfluous 
mercury escapes, leaving a film of the silvery amalgam 
adhering' to the glass. See Mercury. 

Tin is hardened and made more silvery by alloying with 
antimony; zinc has the effect of cleansing it. See Anti- 
mony; Zinc. 

Melted pewter is prevented from oxidizing by letting a 
piece of zinc float upon the surface of the alloy while 
casting. 

One ninth of tin added to copper makes gun-metal or 
bronze, which is tough and rigid, but can neither be rolled 
nor drawn — a wonderful change from the original qualities 
of either metal when unalloyed; and what is perhaps more 
remarkable, if further additions, up to about one fourth, 
of the soft tin be employed, the alloy is made hard and 
elastic. A further increase up to tin 1, copper 2, and 
the alloy becomes so brittle that steel tools fail to 



Tin Enamel. 479 Tinning. 

make any impression upon it, except to crumble it ; its 
malleability is completely destroyed, a brilliant white 
alloy, highly crystalline, having taken its place, with no 
trace of the red copper in its texture. Such an alloy is 
susceptible of a brilliant polish owing to its extremely 
close and hard nature, and for this reason it is used for 
speculums; but special means must be employed for grind- 
ing the surfaces, as they cannot be cut. See Speculum- 
metal; RossE^s Telescope; Copper; Bronze. 

Tin Eiiaiuel. — A pottery enamel consisting prin- 
cipally of tin oxide. Tlie Saracens first used it to em- 
bellish their pottery-ware, but the Italians were finally 
successful in discovering the secret of its production, and 
used the enamel on their famed Majolica ware about the 
year 1600. See Enamel. 

• Tin- foil. — The best tin-foil for mirrors, etc., is made 
from pure tin by rolling or beating. Commoner kinds are 
composed of tin, zinc, and lead in varying proportions, 
and are made by allowing the fluid metal to flow down an 
inclined plane covered with canvas. See Lead. 

Tinker's-dani.— A wall, generally of clay, formed 
around a joint, etc., for the purpose of retaining the solder 
in close contact with the work to be soldered. 

Tinman's Solder.— See Solder. 

Tinning, — Brass and copper articles boiled in a solu- 
tion of stannate of potassa, mixed with turnings of tin, 
are in a short time covered with a layer of pure tin. If 
the articles be boiled in caustic alkali or cream of tartar 
with tin-powder, the same effect is produced; the latter 
fixture is composed of water 2 pails, cream of tartar 



Tin-plate. 480 Tin-plate. 

1 lb., salt J pint. Keep the article moving throngliout 
the process. 

Copper tubes may be tinned inside by a solution of salts 
of tin added to the solatio]i of Rochelle salts, which forms 
a precipitate of stannous tartrate, which must be washed 
and then dissolved in caustic lye. Rinse the copper tube 
with sulphuric acid, and afterwards wash it well out, after 
which the tube must be filled with the alkaline solution, 
slightly warm, and a tin rod inserted; the latter will at 
once cause a thin coat of metallic tin to be deposited. 

Iron pots and similar articles are first cleaned by immer- 
sion in sulphuric acid and water for new metal, and muri- 
atic acid and water for old metal, with a subsequent 
scouring with sand, followed by washing in water. They 
are then put into a bath prepared with cream of tartar 
1 ounce, protochloride of tin 1 ounce, water 10 quarts. 
This bath is kept in a wooden or stone-ware vessel at a 
temperature of 190°. Small pieces of zinc are distributed 
among the articles in the bath, which may be taken out 
and washed with water when the coat of tin deposited 
thereon is thick enough. 

If iron articles are first cleaned as above, they may be 
made hot enough to melt tin, and then rubbed with sal- 
ammoniac, as well as sprinking the latter (in powder) 
over them; the tin can then be applied, and as it melts 
be spread evenly all over with a hand-cloth. 

A cold process of tinning is to blend tin-foil and mer- 
cury into a soft, fusible amalgam, and, after cleaning as 
before directed, rub on the amalgam while the article is 
moist, and then apply heat to evaporate the mercury. See 
Tin-plate. 

Tiii-plate. — The thin iron plates for this purpose are 
usually made from the best charcoal-iron, the surface of 
which is made chemically clean by pickling in hot dihited 



Titanium. 481 Titanium. 

hydrochloric acid. They are then washed and annealed 
in closed iron boxes, passed two or three times through 
the rolls to polish the surface and cause them to take less 
tin, again annealed and picjiled, and subsequently washed 
with sand and running water, which leaves them clean 
and bright for tinning. 

The plates are now put singly into a pot of melted 
grease, then into the tin-pot, containing the bath of 
molten tin, covered with grease; from this they are passed 
to another vessel with two compartments, called the wasJi- 
pot, in both of which compartments is melted tin also, 
well covered with grease, like the first. The tin in this pot 
is purer than that contained in the tin-pot. They are then 
lifted out of compartment No. 1, wiped with a long 
hempen brush on both sides, and again dipped — in compart- 
ment No. 2 this time, out of which it comes shining, to be 
at once transferred in an upright position to a pot of liquid 
grease, the temperature of which is maintained no higher 
than will keep the tin in contact with the oil in a liquid 
state, allowing the superfluous tin to run ojff, and spreading 
the remainder equally on the surface of the iron. See Tm; 

TiKNING. 

Tin-pot.— See Tin-plate; Pans. 
Tinstone.— See Tin. 

Titaninni usually occurs as a gray, heavy, iron-like 
sand, which burns brightly in the air and is converted into 
titanic acid, or in prismatic crystals. In many of its reac- 
tions it closely resembles tin. Titanic acid is used for im- 
parting a yellow tint to porcelain glazes, and for the manu- 
facture of artificial teeth. Ores containing titanic iron are 
supposed to produce an excellent quality of steel. 

ToMn-lbronze.— See Delta-metal. 



Tombac. 



482 



Tongue. 



Tombac is a cheap gilding metal for common 
jewelry, and purposes wliere it is desired to substitute for 
the nobler metals a cheap imitation. 

Those given in the following table are made by first fus- 
ing the copper and adding the remainder afterward in the 
usual way — except in the case of white tombac: in this 
alloy the two metals copper and arsenic are melted together 
in a closed crucible, and well covered with common salt to 
prevent oxidation. 



Kinds of Tombac. 



Gold, imitation 

Silver-white, for buttons, etc. 

Red 

Gilding, for common jewelry 

< ( tt (( (< 

French imitation gold 

Yellow, gilt ornaments 









cj 




o 


H 


c 


i 


i 


o 


N 


^ 


< 


m 


16 


1 


1 






75 






35 




11 


1 








16 


1 toU 








16 








6 


16 


3 to 4 








82 


18 


1 






80 


17 


3 






85.3 


14.7 









Ton. — A weight, equal to 20 hundredweight (avt.). 
The hundredweight in Britain is 112 pounds, making the 
ton 2240 pounds. The U. S. hundredweight is reckoned 
at 100 pounds, which gives a ton of 2000 pounds. 

Tongs. — A metal instrument consisting of two legs 
joined together at one end by a pin, on which they work 
loose, and by means of which an object may be grasped. 
Used in the smithy, forge, steel and brass foundries, etc. 

See LlFTIi^G-TONGS. 



Tongue. — An attachment on a loam-board or sweep, 
by which supplementary bearings, joints, etc., are formed. 
See Finger-piece. 



Topaz. 483 Touch. 

Tools.— See Moulding-tools. 

Top-part. — See Flasks; Cope. 

Top-plate. — See Coverii^g-plate. 

Topaz. — This precious stone is found in Saxony, Bo- 
hemia, Siberia, and Brazil, mixed with other minerals in 
granite rocks. Its colors are yellow, bluish, greenish, 
lilac, and white. Electric by heat, but not by rubbing. It 
is composed of alumina 47.5, silex 44.5, fluoric acid 7, 
oxide of iron 0.5. This is for the yellow variety; their com- 
positions vary. It occurs crystallized and in water- worn 
pebbles, being harder than quartz, but hardly as hard as 
the ruby. The yellow variety, when without flaws, is em- 
ployed for jewelry. See Sapphire; Precious Stones. 

Torsion. — See Strength oe Materials. 

Touch. — The sense of touch is perhaps more acute in 
the hands than in any other part of the body, and it is 
certain that the touch will reveal inequalities of surface 
which the unaided eye would fail to detect. This sense 
when fully developed is of infinite service when a mould 
surface consisting of numerous varying curves has to be 
formed in the sand so that all the lines may miugle 
one into another in such a manner as shall defy the 
strictest scrutiny to detect where one angle intersects 
the other. This nicety of touch should be cultivated 
among moulders more than it is: eminent sculptors have 
it, poor ones do not; and it is rational to say that the 
moulder who is deficient in this quality will never accom- 
plish anything in his trade but what is mediocre. 

The study and practice of modelling in sand and clay 
should by all means be encouraged in our technical schools. 



Touch-needles. 484 Train. 

Both touch and design could there be cultivated, and 
opportunity given for the American moulder to reach that 
degree of artistic superiority which has been already at- 
tained by the educated artisan in many parts of Europe. 
See Technical Education tor the Moulder. 

Touch-needles. — Used by assayers and refiners; are 
little bars of gold, silver, and copper combined together 
in all the different proportions and degrees of mixture. 
Their use is to discover the degree of purity of any piece 
of gold or silver by comparing the marks they leave on 
the touchstone with those of the bars. The touchstone is 
usually a piece of hard black basalt. See Assaying; 
Basalt. 

Toughened Glass is made by plunging the glass 
into a bath containing an oleaginous mixture after heating 
almost to melting-point the articles to be toughened, the 
bath itself being at a high temperature, but not so high 
as the glass itself. Some of the articles are thus toughened 
without any previous annealing — simply dropping them 
from the workman's rod directly into the bath. 

Toughness. — This quality in metals is simply the 
power to resist rupture — firmness, strength, compactness; 
not readily broken or fractured by bending, drawing, or 
extending. A metal possessing this quality is flexible 
without brittleness, yielding to force without breaking. 
Toughness is tested by bending, torsion, etc. See 
Strength of Materials. 

Train. — The forge-train consists of two pairs of rolls 
connected in one line, those on the left being the ro7igJi- 
ing or puddle rolls; the right are i\ie finishing-rolls. The 
mill-train also consists of two pairs of rolls — roiigUing or 
Ulleting rolls, and finishing-rolls. Forge-train puddle- 



Trammel, 485 Treading. 

rolls receive the puddle-blooms from the squeezer; the 
mill-train billeting-rolls are for rolling mercliant-iron from 
the puddled bar after being cut, piled, and reheated. 

Trammel. — Compass-points attached to sleeves which 
slide on a bar or beam. They are used for describing 
larger circles than an ordinary compass will reach. They 
are held fast at any point on the bar by a set- screw on the 
top^ 

Tramping, or Treading, is a method of ramming 
which, when thoroughly understood, is of great value to 
the moulder, owing to the fact that upon an equal thick- 
ness of sand a man's weight applied at every portion must 
result in an equal depression all over, and thus produce a 
rammed surface of equal density at every part. Tramping 
is much practised by light-work moulders, who roll all 
their work over in frame nowels with follow and bottom 
boards, as well as by those employed on heavy work, when 
mould-beds are formed in the floor. If this operation is 
not performed with judgment and care, the casting will 
most assuredly betray the moulder's ignorance or neglect; 
alternate heavy and light treading being unmistakably 
revealed by the undulating appearance of tlie casting's sur- 
face. A swelled casting is an abomination, but it may 
always be avoided by intelligent ramming and tramping. 
See Eammikg; Ven"ting. 

Tramway, Overhead. — See Cranes; Iron Car- 
rier. 

Transverse Strength. — See Strength of Ma- 
terials. 

Travelling-crane. — See Crane. 

Treading. — Same as Tramping. See Tramping. 



Trestle. 480 Trip hammei*. 

Trestle. — A beam connected to three or four legs 
wliicli spread out at the bottom to impart greater stability. 
Trestles are made of various sizes and shapes for supporting 
moulds, flasks, etc., and are commonly termed liorses when 
used for this purpose. The forms of trestles, in both 
wood and iron, vary according to the use for which they 
are intended. See Core-lathe. 

Trial-cast. — A simple and inexpensive method of 
obtaining a trial-cast of pig iron is to possess a gas-blast or 
other good crucible furnace in which to melt a small sample 
at quick notice, and cast a bar one inch square, twelve 
inches long, and another two inches wide, one-eighth inch 
thick, also twelve inches long. These must be moulded 
carefully, by the same person every time if possible, in sepa- 
rate flasks, and poured with metal corresponding in temper- 
ature on each occasion. If a wedge-like projection two 
inches long be cast on one or both ends of the square bar, 
the tendency to chill will be at once determined by the 
amount of white iron extending from the point inwards, as 
well as by the edges of the thin bar. The amount of 
shrinkage is ascertained by careful measurement of the 
bars; and, if the same gates be used for each cast, the thin 
bar will serve to show the metal's fluidity. Tensile or 
transverse strength can be afterwards obtained on the test- 
ing-machine. See Testing-machike; Steel Castings; 
Gas-blast Furn"Ace. 

Trinket-metal. — See Gold Alloys; Tombac. 

Trip-hammer, or Frontal Helve, differs from the 
Tilt-hammer in that the lever, instead of being raised by 
depressing the tail, is lifted by projections or wipers which 
act by lifting the head about twenty inches. The trip is 
especially for shingling, and is made more massive than the 
tut. See Tilt-hammer. 



Tripod. 4S7 Trowel. 

Trii>od.— See Spider; Ordnais'CE. 

Tripoli was originally brought from that part of 
Africa from whence it derives its name. It is a siliceous 
stone with fine particles, much like rottenstone in its 
nature, and like it is used extensively in polishing metals, 
glass, and marble. See Polishing SuBSTA:t^rcES. 

Trituration. — Dry grinding by special apparatus 
designed to make a finer powder than is possible by the 
ordinary means for pulverizing. When the comminution 
is aided by a liquid it is termed levigation. 

Trolley. — A term of general application to all vehicles 
which run on a track or tracks, but more especially to the 
carriage of an overhead tramway. See Iro:n"-carrier; 
Cranes. 

Troiiipe. — A water-blowing machine, consisting of a 
cistern supported about twenty feet above the air-chamber 
and connected with the latter by a wooden pipe, near the 
top .of which are several oblique holes. Another pipe 
connection on the lower cistern or wind-chamber leads to 
the tuyere. When working, the upper cistern is kept full 
of water, and the flow therefrom is regulated by a conical 
plug. As soon as opened, the water rushes down the long 
pipe, carrying some air, which enters through the holes 
along with it; the water falls on a projection inside the 
wind-chamber, and its height in the latter is regulated by 
an escape-pipe on the side; while the air carried down with 
the water is forced to the furnace tlirough the discharge 
previously spoken of. See Catalan Forge. 

Trowel. — This is unquestionably the most important 
of all the moulder's tools. The s-qiurre trowels vary in size 



Troy Weight. 488 Tub. 

from J inch X 3 inches to 2 inches X 7 inches, and are 
supplied with a handle similar in style to the ordinary 
mason's trowel, but smaller. Others, again, having handles, 
are heart-shaped, and vary in size from IJ inches to 3|^ 
inches across. There is, besides these, a combination tool 
having a square at one end and a heart at the other, which 
for general purposes, in skilful hands, is the most useful 
of all. See Mould^g- tools. 

Troy Weight. — A weight used chiefly in weighing 
the precious metals, gems, jewelry, etc. A standard 
pound Troy contains twelve ounces, each ounce twenty 
pennyweights, and each pennyweight twenty-four grains. 

Truck. — Almost any contrivance on wheels for carry- 
ing loads is called a truck. At one time trucks were of 
such variety as almost to defy description, but the tram- 
rail and overhead conveniences have revolutionized this, 
leaving the foundries clear of all except the common hand- 
truck and wheelbarrow. See Iron-carrier; Oran'es. 

Trunnions are cylindrical projections placed on 
each side of a flask in a position to balance it. The 
trunnion forms an axis to turn in a sling, or on a suitably 
contrived trestle, when the cope is turned over. A de- 
pression in the middle of tlie trunnion prevents the sling 
from slipping off. See Sling. 

Tub. — The rectangular wooden trough over which 
some brass-moulders ram their flasks is by them called a 
tub. If iron slides are fastened on the inside, lengthwise, 
a few inches from the top, a frame can rest thereon to hold 
the flasks. By this means the rammed flask may be slided 
across or along the tub into any convenient position with- 
out bearing up its weight— a great convenience when the 
work is prolonged. 



Tube-vents. 489 Tumbling-barrel. 

Tube-vents are vent-connections made with tubes in 
such a manner as to make it impossible for any metal to 
insinuate itself therein. If the gas from one core must be 
made to pass off by the way of another througli a connect- 
ing core, the operation is made absolutely safe by placing a 
tube midway at the junction ; or if a vent must be led 
from a core remote from the outside, as in a set of steam- 
way cores, tubes inserted in the vents, long enough to reach 
the distance, make it a safe operation. See VEis^TiifG. 

Tucking. — A process in moulding intended to make 
all parts of a mould sufficiently hard by a previous ram- 
ming or tucking with the fingers in places where under 
existing circumstances the rammer could not be made 
to reach, as under flask-bars, among gaggers, etc. The 
method is in many instances a reprehensible one, as 
the more effective and safer mode would be to do this 
tucking with a small hand-rammer, the latter being much 
easier on the fingers also. See Rammij^g; Vektikg. 

Tula-metal.— See Niello-e]S"gbayin"g. 

Tumbling-barrel. — The common tumbling or 
cleaning barrel consists of a barrel-shaped, vessel with a 
side opening for introducing the work, mounted on an 
axis, and revolved by gears or belt. 

These, however, are fast becoming scarce, owing to the 
numerous patented inventions of various descriptions 
which may be obtained from the dealers at short notice. 

The Henderson oblique barrel, used for burnishing and 
plating small brass goods as well as iron; also an exhaust- 
barrel for castings; the Stover exhaust for castings, nails, 
forgings, etc. ; friction-geared, roller-geared, and encased 
tumbling-barrels — are only a few of the machines designed 
to totally eradicate the dust and noise which have hitherto 



Tungsten. 490 Turpentine. 

been tlie inevital)le accompaniment of these useful devices. 
See Exhaust Tumbling-baerel. 

Tungsten, or Wolframite, forms with steel an alloy 
of remarkable hardness. It is a rare metal, derived chiefly 
from wolfram, a tungstate of iron and manganese. See 
Wolfram. 

Tungsten-bronze is made by adding tungsten to 
the ordinary bronzes or brass containing copper, tin, zinc, 
and lead. 

Tungsten-steel. — Wolframite aaded to steel. 

Turf.— See Peat. 

Turkey-stone. — A slaty stone containing a large pro- 
portion of fine siliceous particles, which make it of great 
service for sharpening edge-tools. See Whetstoke. 

Turnbuckle. — A long link having tapped ends or 
one end swivelled; used for tightening stay-rods or chains, 
as in a swivel chain. See Swivel-chain; Swivel. 

Turning-cores. — See Core-lathe. 

Turnover Board.— See Follow-board; Match- 
plate; Match-part; Bed-board. 

Turnover Flask is the flask used with a turnover 
board. See Rolling-over; Turnover Board; Flasks. 

Turpentine. — Oil of turpentine is obtained by dis- 
tilling with water the pitchy matter that exudes from 
pine-trees; what remains after distillation is called common 



Tutania. 4^91 Tymp. 

rosin. Boils at 320°; is highly inflammable; specific gravity 
0.86. See Pitch; Kesik. 

Tutania. — A beautiful table-ware alloy of silvery 
brightness. One mixture is tin 2 pounds, antimony 4 
ounces, arsenic 1 ounce. The Engestroom tutania is cop- 
per 4, regulus of antimony 8, bismuth 1, melted together 
and added to 100 parts of tin. A German alloy is tin 48, 
copper 1, antimony 4. See Span"ish Tutakia; Silver; 
German-silyer ; Britannia Metal. 

Tutenag". — An Indian name for zinc. It is sometimes 
applied to denote a white alloy brought from China and 
called Chinese copper. Analysis discovers copper, zinc, 
and iron in some specimens, while others are said to be 
merely copper and arsenic. It is used chiefly for table- 
ware, and is generally composed of copper 50, nickel 19, 
and zinc 31, although it is common to mix lead or iron in 
small quantities along with these ingredients. See White 
Alloys. 

Tutty. — A polishing powder consisting of an impure 
oxide of zinc, gathered from the chimneys, etc., of the 
zinc furnaces. See Polishing Substances. 

Tuyere. — A tube to direct and regulate a current of 
air to the inside of a cupola or other blast-furnace. For 
description, see Cupola; for number required in different- 
sized cupolas, see Charging the Common Cupola. See 
also Blast- pipes; Blast-gate; Eyepiece; Blast-press- 
ure; Greiner Patent Cupola. 

Twister. — See Hay-rope Twister. 

Tymp. — An opening in the masonry of a blast-fur- 
nace hearth, across the top of which is laid either a block 



Type-founding. 49^ i!ype-founding. 

of refractory stoue, or a hollow iron block, through which a 
current of water is kept constantly flowing to prevent it 
from melting. The dam-plate stands a little below and 
supports the dam-done, which forms the front of the fore- 
hearth. The slag flows over tlie tymp, while the reduced 
iron collects in the hearth below. See Cast Iroit. 

Type -founding.— Typography means writing by 
types. Movable types were used for printing in China and 
Japan long before the art was practised in Europe; blocks 
were used there as far back as the sixth century, but it was 
not till the tenth century that books were produced. The 
Chinese employed movable types of clay about the eleventh 
century, and in the fifteenth century the Coreans invented 
types of copper. The book trade was established in 
Europe about the thirteenth century, and it was about the 
year 1457 that Faust and Schoeffer printed with movable 
wooden types. Some think that the earliest types were 
cast in sand, and followed later by plaster mould's; but 
whatever process of casting was then employed, their form 
corresponds with those now in use — lead, iron, copper, 
tin, steel, and brass being all employed in their production 
at that time. 

The earliest printers cast their own types, but the mod- 
ern type-founder has usurped that part of the business. 
To make a type in the ordinary way, the letter is first 
cut on the end of a soft steel punch and then hardened, 
after which the impression is obtained on a piece of 
polished copper. This impression is the matrix, on which 
the face of the type is cast after it has been enclosed within 
a metal mould. The metal is poured into the mould by 
the workman, who gives it a quick jerk, after it has been 
filled, to solidify it. 

The above is the hand-mouid method practised until 
about 1838, when a type-casting machine was invented by 



Type metal. 493 Type-metal. 

David Bruce of New York, followed by many others of a 
similar description, most of which kept the metal fluid by 
gas-jets, and forced it into the moulds with a pump, mak- 
ing an average of 100 types per minute. Johnson's Eng- 
lish patent consists of a furnace covered by a shallow pot 
of fused metal, in which the pump and mould are placed, 
opposite its nozzle. After adjustment the metal is injected 
and solidifies, forming a type, with jet or gate attached. 
This letter is thrust out, and the mould closes for another 
cast, all of which takes place at one revolution of the axis. 
As they are thus cast and delivered, the letters are guided 
to the dressing-machine, and by a subsequent series of 
automatically performed operations they are finally deliv- 
ered ready for the printer. See Type-metal; Stereo- 
type. 

Type-metal. — Lead is the principal ingredient o" 
type-metal, with varying proportions of antimony, ranging 
from 17 to 20 per cent of the latter, with small proportions 
of other metals to harden it, as tin, bismuth, nickel, and 
copper. Ductility, hardness, and toughness being the 
prime requisites of a type-metal, these alloys must vary 
according to the quality and nature of the work for which 
they are intended. 

A less proportion of antimony is used for large than for 
small type. Small type must be harder, to resist the wear 
and make it rigid. 

In 1855 Besley's patent type-metal came into use, con- 
sisting of lead 100, antimony 30, tin 20, copper 8, bismuth 
2, nickel 8. 

The common type-metal compound for mixtures consists 
of lead 80, antimony 20, with from 5 to 6 of bismuth. 

Lead 3, antimony 1 makes the hard alloy for the small- 
est type; if required softer, add one part more to the lead. 

Medium-sized types require lead 5, antimony 1. Large 



Uchatius Steel. 494 Undercut. 

t37pes, lend 6, antimony 1; or lead 7, antimony 1 for a softer 
grade. 

Stereotype plates, 4 to 8 of lead to 1 of antimony, accord- 
ing to hardness required. 

About five per cent of tin may be used on tlie small 
type, or a small proportion of copper. 

The antimony is very serviceable in type-founding : 
being a metal that expands in cooling, it counteracts the 
high shrinkage of the lead, and thus preserves the original 
size of the cast — a very important feature in stereotype- 
casting. See Type-foundinct. 

U. 

Uchatius Bronze.— See Telegraph-wire. 

Uchatius Steel. — This steel is produced from iron 
which has been granulated by plunging into water and 
then melted along with brown hematite ores, etc. 

Umber. — A variety of hematite ore, composed of oxide 
of iron 48, oxide of manganese 20, silex 13, alumina 5, 
water 14. It is found in Cyprus; occurs massive; has no 
lustre; is brown and yellow in color; becomes a reddish 
brown when burnt, and in that state is used as an artist's 
color. 

Undercut. — A pattern or model is said to be under- 
cut when its lower dimensions are largest — exactly opposite 
to taper or draught. Such patterns may in some cases be 
rammed within a flask and withdrawn after reversing the 
whole, or the projecting parts may be made loose on the 
main block and drawn inward after the latter has been 
taken out. Another method is to proceed contrary to the 
usual custom and draw the mould from the pattern in as 



Universal Rolling-mill. 495 Vapor. 

many sections or drawhacTcs as will allow the pattern to be 
lifted away from the remainder. See Statue-founding; 
Taper; Drawback; False Core. 

Universal Rolling-mill. — A compound rolling- 
mill consists of a pair of vertical rolls working in com- 
bination with another pair of horizontal ones, which act to 
compress the pile edgeways and flatways at once. 

Unsoundness of Steel.— See Silicon; Honey- 
combing; Steel Castings; Pressing Fluid Steel. 

Upright Runner.— See Gate-pin. 

Uranium. — A metal found in a few minerals, aspitch- 
bletide, which is an oxide, and uranite, which is a phosphate. 
The former is its principal ore. The metal, according to 
the process by which it is obtained, is either in fused white 
malleable globules or in a black powder. It is used for 
imparting a yellow tint to glass. See Metals. 



V. 

Vacuum denotes a space empty or devoid of all mat- 
ter. When air is removed from a vessel with an air-pump 
a vacuum is said to be produced. Sometimes a vacuum 
occurs from natural causes, but it is only for an instant, as 
the surrounding air rushes in to fill them. The most per- 
fect vacuum until recently was the space above the mercury 
in a barometric tube. See Temperature. 

Vapor. — Heat converts liquids into vapors, and the 
process is called vaporization. Heat applied to a solid first 
expands it, then melts it, and finally turns it into vapor. 
When vapor is formed sensible heat is absorbed and cold is 



Varnishes. 496 Venting. 

produced. Hence when the skin is moistened with a volatile 
liquid (one that passes readily into vapor), like alcohol, a 
sensation of cold is pi-oduced; the heat has been consumed. 

Varnishes.— The solutions of the various resins in 
alcohol, the drying-oils, or the essential oils. Transparent 
varnish for patterns : Alcohol 1 gallon, best shellac 2| 
pounds; to be kept ivarm, not hot nor cold. Common 
oil-varnish : Resin 4 pounds, beeswax ^ pound, boiled oil 

1 gallon; mix when warm; then add spirits of turpentine 

2 quai-ts. Mastic varnish : Mastic 1 pound, white wax 1 
ounce, spirits of turpentine 1 gallon; reduce the gums 
small, then digest with heat in a closed vessel till dissolved. 
Tnrpentine-varnish : Resin 1 pound, boiled oil 1 pound; 
melt; then add turpentine 2 lbs.; mix well. Gold-varnish: 
Digest shellac 16, sandarac, mastic, of each 3, crocus 1, 
gamboge 2, all bruised, with alcohol 144. Cldnese quick- 
drying: Sandarac 2 ounces, mastic 2 ounces, alcohol 1 
pint. Copal varnish: Pale hard copal 2 pounds; fuse; 
boil with one pint drying-oil and thin with turpentine. 
See Black Varnish; etc. 

Vegetable Casts in Metal.— See Insect Oasts in 
Metal. 

Vegetable Wax. — This wax is found as exudations 
on leaves and fruits, where they form a glaucous surface, 
which repels water. The bayberry, for instance, is thickly 
coated with it. 

Veins.— See Ores. 

Venting. — The word "venting," as understood in 
foundry nomenclature, is a significant one, and means any 
or all of the various schemes which are being daily in- 



Venting. 497 Venting. 

vented and practised to safely dispose of the gases pro- 
duced in the moulds and cores, when brought in contact 
with the molten metal. It is unquestionably the most 
important phase of the moulder's art, and would likewise be 
the most interesting if the workmen fully understood all 
its niceties from the standpoint of the chemist. So far 
this advantage has been denied the average moulder, and 
there is every indication that he must for some time longer 
keep moulding castings the manipulation of which involves 
processes which are common only in the laboratory of the 
chemist. How he acquits himself of the task is an unsolved 
problem to every one at all conversant with the work. 

All moulds and cores contain virions proportions of or- 
ganic and volatile matters, consisting of portions of roots, 
horse-dung, coal, straw, etc., all of which when decom- 
posed by the hot metal generate inflammable gases; in ad- 
dition to which must be added steam from the moist sand, 
which when decomposed gives rise to hydrogen, while its 
oxygen combines with whatever carbon may be present in 
the material to form carbonic oxides. These inflammable 
gases when mixed with atmospheric air produce a danger- 
ously explosive compound, and it is in dealing with this 
objectionable substance that the moulder's judgment and 
skill are frequently taxed to the utmost in order to avoid 
the terrific explosions which would be sure to follow, in 
rome instances, if it should be ignited prematurely. 

The methods employed for venting are various — from the 
simple operation of making a small hole through the centre 
of an inch core, or perforating the sand in the top and 
bottom parts of a bench-flask, to the more complicated 
systems necessary for the successful production of high- 
grade castings. Nevertheless they all aim at the one ob- 
ject, viz., to convey the gas safely away as soon as it gener- 
ates in the sand, and thus prevent it from forcing its way 
into the interior of the mould by bi-eaking down such 



Venting. 



498 



Venting. 



portions as are not of sufficient strength to resist the 
pressure. It is largely due to imperfect venting when 
the mould surface is destroyed in this manner, and what 
are technically called "scabs/^ "blisters/' "blowheads," 
etc., may also be traced to this source, which in extreme 
cases may result in total disruption of the mould by ex- 
plosion. 

Very much of the venting practised on ordinary green- 
sand work might, however, be dispensed with if those in- 
terested in the business were better informed with regard 
to the sand employed for moulding purposes. The worth 
of sands for foundry use are almost entirely dependent on 
their possessing certain chemical and physical properties; 
by the chemist's aid it is reasonable to anticipate a time 
in the near future when many of the evils we now attempt 
to obviate by increased venting will be more effectually 
remedied by a change in the materials employed. 

While we admit that careful venting is a prime requisite 
in some cases, it is a fact beyond question that very much 
valuable time is wasted in venting some moulds which, if 
intelligently rammed with suitable material, would be 



Face of Bed 




Fig.l 

equally good, or perhaps better, without a vent. Some 
moulders mix sea-coal with sand, believing that it imparts 
a quality thereto which makes venting unnecessary; whereas 
the sea-coal only serves to separate the clayey portions of 



Venting. 499 Venting. 

sand, and introduces particles of refractory carbon, which 
prevent in some measure the partial fusing of the sand — 
to be noticed on castings that have been made in new sand. 
The coal burns and emits its smoke, forming a film of gas 
betwixt the sand and the metal ; but this gas, like the rest, 
must be conveyed away as fast as it generates, otherwise it 
will seek an entrance to the mould, with the result above 
described. 

To ascertain the effect of coal upon sand, and obtain a 
true estimate of the materials employed for making mould 
surfaces, prepare two open sand-plates on the floor, about 
3 feet square and J inch thick, one bed to be made with 
ordinary coal facing-sand, the other in floor-sand free from 
coal; both to be equal in density and moisture, but neither 
one vented. The free-sand mould will permit the metal 
to spread uninterruptedly over its surface, because there is 
comparatively no gas-producing substances in the sand used 
for forming it. How different in the other case ! The 
instant you begin to pour, gas is generated from the coal- 
sand surface, which cannot make its escape outwards be- 
cause there are no vents provided: it must therefore force 
its way inwards; the result being that the whole surface of 
molten metal is converted into a mass of eruptive jets, 
which continue to bubble forth the imprisoned gases as 
long as the metal remains fluid. The solidified plnte will 
show a honeycombed surface all over, and be worthless as a 
casting. If such a plate be prepared 2 inches thick instead 
of I inch, the metal will remain in a fluid condition for a 
longer space of time, and the quantity of gas generated will 
be augmented correspondingly; this naturally adds force 
to the gas, which in its effort to escape will carry along 
with it the sand crust, throwing it upwards through the 
metal with considerable force until the violent action is 
arrested by solidification of the mass. 

The water contained in green-sand mould surfaces is at 



Venting, 



500 



Venting. 



once converted to steam when the molten metul covers 
them; if this steam is not adequately drained off by vent- 
ing, the result will be similar to that described for coal. 
Ordinarily this steam is pressed backwards into the porous 
mass of sand behind, but when this sand must necessarily 
be rammed so hard as to make it impossible for the steam 
to circulate through it, then recourse must be had to vent- 
ing. Masses of green-sand almost entirely surrounded 
with metal require the most accurate venting, as there is no 
possibility of the steam and gas circulating; it must pass 
through a limited space, and special means are provided 
for guiding it out at that aperture, wherever it may be 
located. 

All green-sand surfaces — which for obvious reasons must 
be made very hard — require special treatment; such, for in- 
stance, as the bottom of bed -plates, lathe and planer beds, 
and all similar moulds. For work of this class the ordi- 
nary wire venting must be supplemented by the use of a 




Fig. ? 

cinder-bed, which acts as a general receiver of all the gases 
generated on the outside walls and bottom surfaces of the 
mould, and for the inside too in some instances. This 
consists of digging down from 12 to 16 inches below the 
bottom surface of the pattern and placing a layer of coarse 



Venting. 501 Venting. 

cinders down on the bottom from 6 to 8 inches deep, the 
interstices to be filled with finer ones. Over this a thin 
layer of hay or straw serves to prevent the sand from en- 
tering. Pipes must be set at convenient places, to which 
the cinder-bed is connected, and through which the col- 
lected gases will escape to the surface. Over this a layer 
of old sand is firmly rammed to within one inch of the in- 
tended surface, when the whole is vented with a f-inch 
wire down through the sand to the cinders; after which 
tlie facing-sand is spread over in sufficient quantity to ad- 
mit of treading or ramming down enough to leave the sur- 
face somewhat above the straight-edges by which the bed 
is formed. Before striking off the superfluous sand, it is 
requisite in some particular cases to supplement the pre- 
vious venting with the large wire to the cinders by another 
course of very fine vents, giving them a little slant in order 
to make sure of striking the large vents. The large vents 
may be 2 inches apart, but the smaller ones should bo 
much closer. By using an extremely fine wire in the latter 
venting, there will be no open vents by the time the bed 
hiis been strickled off and made smooth. Fig. 1 illustrates 
the processes herein explained. 

Cinder-beds offer many inducements for their more 
general adoption, as by this means all venting required on 
the sides and elsewhere may be effectually done by either 
pushing a wire down to the cinders or ramming up rods 
from thence. This enables the moulder to make his mould 
free of vent-holes at the joint — "a consummation most de- 
voutly to be wished," as every intelligent moulder knows. 
While it is freely admitted that gas will rise easier than it 
will descend, there is no question about the efficiency of 
down venting when the passageways are kept clear. 

All large areas, especially such as must receive cores, 
etc., over which the metal will rest, can be easily and most 
effectually vented by moans of the cinder-bed when any 



Venting. 



502 



Venting. 



of the other methods usually employed might render the 
operation more than doubtful. See Fig. 2. 

Deep green-sand work, such as tanks, cisterns, etc., 
round or square, offer very few difficulties when the 
cinder-bed is employed as a basis for venting. If such 
castings be plain, and are moulded bottom up, the open 




Fig. 3 

bed below will readily receive the vents from the wire 
direct ; but should there be branches or other attachments, 
which make it necessary to lift out the core, an intermedi- 
ate layer of cinders inside the core will intercept the vent, 
and a convenient hole in the lifting-plate serves to convey 
the gas downward to the original bed. See Figs. 3 and 4. 
There are, however, a large number of moulds that can 
be very readily vented by the wire alone. Thin flat work is 
particularly adapted for direct wire-venting. A shallow 
channel cut in the joint some distance from the pattern 
serves as a starting-point for the wire, which when bent a 
little may be thrust in under the pattern (see Fig. 5); or, 
should the pattern be more complicated, as a beam or 
lintel, the sand below the casting may be perforated by 
means of a bent wire thrust in from the outside, after the 



Venting. 



503 



Venting. 



rammiDg has reached some distauce from the bottom, and 
these again pierced by vertical vents from the joint. It 
only remains to vent down the lower vents through the 
core and a somewhat imperfect communication is made. 




Fig, 4 

The success of this method depends largely on the sand 
under and around the pattern being evenly tempered, and 
sufficiently porous to permit the gases to circulate freely. 
See Fig. G. 

Tlie value of working green-sands with the least possible 
amount of water is forcibly demonstrated by the following 
illustrations : When making cast-iron flasks with an upper 
and lower web on the sides, it invariably happens that 
more or less repairing needs to be done at the edges after 
the pattern has been drawn out of the sand. Should it 
happen that .a careless or ignorant moulder attempts this, 
he will try to facilitate the operation by a plentiful applica- 
tion of water, the steam generated from which, when the 
metal rises to that part, no ordinary venting is able to 
carry away. Now there are very few moulders of any ex- 
perience whatever who have not seen more than one flask 
utterly spoiled on this account, and yet they insist upon a 



Venting. 504 Venting. 

free use of water, for the same reason, on other important 
moulds, evidently persuading themselves that because it is 
hidden under a flask no such harm can ensue. It most 
assuredly does ; and only the added pressure in the covered 
moulds prevents a complete disaster always, but even that 
fails in eradicating the scabs and dirt. 

The writer remembers a foundry that made/ a specialty 
of pistons, the two rings and spring for which were made 
as separate castings. As these were turned all over, and 
ought to present an absolutely clean face throughout their 
entire surface, it was considered by all to be a 'critical job, 
and many castings were rejected because of the pin-holes 
and dirt which, no matter how careful the moulding, would 
be revealed when the skin was broken. One man in the 
shop, by some considered a crank, kept reminding them 
that they were using too much water and coal-facing, and 
that as long as they did this they would never make a per- 
manent success of the job. How he was answered by the 
indignant failures around him need not be related here. 
The foreman, fearing that this crank's boast of being able 
to make them clean might reach the ears of his superiors, 
thought to silence him forever by giving him one of the 
largest springs to make, fully expecting that he would fail 
in making good his boast, and intending to use that as a 
means for ridding himself of an intolerable nuisance. In 
this, however, he was deceived. The crank dug his hole 
deep and wide, and filled it to within a few inches of the 
pattern with dry old sand from the scrap-pile, after which 
he prepared his facing-sand, which consisted of finely sifted 
old sand just moist enough to bind together. With the 
exception of that portion immediate to the runner, the 
whole was faced with the dry mixture, and as the gate 
which he used was a very fine drop-gate, very little of the 
coal-facing sufficed. With a sharp, fine vent-wire he 
pricked through the cope to the pattern, and with a larger 



Venting. 505 Venting. 

one round and under it. After finishing clean with abso- 
lutely no water, he returned the cope and made his runner- 
basin, which held almost all the iron required for the cast- 
ing. He flooded this basin instantly with the hottest iron 
procurable, in a manner which made it impossible for any 
dirt to enter the small gate he had made. In went the 
iron at its leisure, and out through every little hole rushed 
the hot air and gas, until the mould filled, when the iron 
spurted upward in a hundred tiny sprays. Result : The 
first large spring ever made at that place without a flaw. 
It is needless to say that the crank remained. Fig. 7 illus- 
trates the crank's mode of procedure. 

There can be no question that copes need venting to 
permit the escape of steam and gas ; otherwise, if not led 
upward, they may force an entrance into the mould below, 
carrying a crust of sand along. The holes should be small. 
Large holes act too much like open risers, and rob the mould 
of that steady pressure so desirable to maintain for the 
support of other surfaces besides the cope. When copes 
that have been vented buckle, the true cause will be 
found in the sand. 

It is criminal to suppose that a core or piece of mould, 
because it is far removed from the upper surface, may be 
left unvented, and trust to the pressure above preventing 
future trouble from that source. If the certain commo- 
tion created at that precise part by such neglect be not 
immediately apparent, it is probable that more or less of 
this gas which has entered the mould, instead of passing 
outside by a suitably provided vent, is held imprisoned in' 
some part of the casting, and is likely at some time or other 
to reveal itself unpleasantly. 

One reason why large surfaces in open-sand moulds can, 
as a rule, be made without any other venting than a mod- 
erately soft bed affords, arises from the fact that most cast- 
ings, including foundry-plates made after this manner, are 



Venting. 



506 



Venting. 



not required to be very correct, a slight swell or scab not 
materially affecting their nsefulness. Nearly all beds for 
open-sand castings can be made moderately soft, as before 
stated, and without any admixture of coal. The latter 
condition limits the gas present to whatever gas-prodnciiig 
elements are contained in the old sand, which is very little; 
the former condition is favorable to a free absorption of 
the little that is made. 

It must be remembered also that such beds are not 
called upon to resist the same amount of pressure that is 
common in covered work. A plate 2 inches thick in open 
sand exerts a pressure downward equal to | pound per 
square inch; the same plate covered, with head-pressure 
of 2 feet, would be 6 J pounds per square inch. 

Eelieving moulds of expanded atmospheric air and ac- 
cumulated gases is sometimes as difficult an operation as 
any that are connected with venting the sands and loam 
used for making them. Leaving risers open in order to 
free the moulds of these accumulations is not to be thought 




Fifj. 5 

of where the materials are in any sense deficient; and some 
adequate means must otherwise be provided for the expul- 
sion of these offending gases. One manner of accomplishing 
this is to make large basin riser-heads at the highest point 
of the mould, fill the basin with soft hay well pressed down, 
and place thereon a riddle, with weights to keep it there; 
or make good-sized plug-risers, and place over each a piece 
of fine wire-cloth, securing it in such a manner as that 
nothing shall pass out except through the netting. By 



Venting. 



507 



Venting. 



either of these means the mould is effectually relieved with- 
out any of the roar and friction which usually attend open 
pouring when the riser area is limited. 

When large volumes of gas must necessarily be relieved 
by a very limited passageway, either from cores or moulds, 
extra precautions should be taken, and one great help is to 
make sure that the atmosphere in the immediate neighbor- 
hood of the vent be as hot as possible. A considerable 
body of molten iron poured down under the mouth of the 
vent is better than lighted shavings, as it insures a steady 
heat which precludes the possibility of cold air interfering 
with the easy egress of the outcoming gas. 




Mg.6 

When the gas from one core must necessarily pass 
through another core to reach its place of exit there should 
be no hesitation about making such connections as will 
convert the two cores into one practically. This may be 
easily accomplished by making pipe-connections, and, 
whether the final exit be through the side, top, or bottom, 
if the mould be an important one, the pipe method of 
securing vents should be strictly adhered to. See Fig. 8. 

Not unfrequently large core-barrels in horizontal moulds 
will explode with disastrous effect during the process of 
casting. This is an instance where the dangerous accumu- 
lations spoken of at the outset are made possible within 
the hollow barrel. There are several ways of preventing 



Venting. 508 Venting. 

these explosions: a few shavings scattered along the botton:? 
and ignited when pouring commences serve to burn olf 
the gases as they exude ; but if by any means the lighc 
should cease suddenly before the casting is well poured, the 
danger is not removed. Where practicable, it is advisable 
to fill the barrel with straw or shavings, and thus exclude 
the atmosphere, or place a netting of wire-cloth at each 
end that will exactly fill the space: this acts like a Davy- 
lamp, prevents the flame from entering tlie barrel, and 
allows the gas to burn harmlessly away at each end. 

Large round or flat bottomed tanks and compound 
cylinders cast with their open ends down, making it neces- 
sary to convey the gas from the bottom of the mould, fur- 
nish an interesting phase of venting. While there are 
many methods for accomplishing this, it is certain that fill- 
ing the core with sand, coke, straw, etc., is by all means 
the safest, and should always be adopted with castings of 
magnitude that are costly to produce. 

By this means suitable provision can be made for carry- 
ing oif what little gas is formed by the brick core, etc., and 
all danger from admixture with atmospheric air success- 
fully avoided. 

For ordinary pan-castings, however, much quicker 
methods must be devised, even if some risks are taken. It 
is therefore no uncommon thing to see such castings made 
without any particular attention to the vent other than to 
cut a single gutter from the middle, underneath, and con- 
nect with a pipe which leads it to the floor-level. An explo- 
sion once in a while prompts the moulder to observe greater 
care, but it is for a short time only. A bad feature at 
some foundries is to place large quantities of shavings and 
wood in the interior, and set them on fire before casting 
commences: this creates an instant expansion of the core, 
and very often loosens the loam from the bricks. A little 
iron run down a sloping gutter to the middle will heat the 



Venting. 



509 



Venting. 



atmospliere within to create a draught which, if there be 
two opposite pipes, will convey the gas harmlessly away. 
By leading a good-sized pipe up to the surface, and cover- 
ing it with wire-cloth, all communication with the inside 
is shut off, and the gas may be lighted as any ordinary 
vent. The same result is obtained when the gutter leading 
from the middle is filled with cinders or straw. A dumb- 
vent is a channel constructed from the pit through the 
wall of the foundry, or to some part within that is remote 
from the possibility of sparks igniting the gas, and thus 
causing an explosion. ! 

A remarkable incident occurred at a foundry in Eng- 
land, where the writer was engaged moulding a large puri- 
fier in loam. The foreman, a self-willed fellow, with little 
knowledge or experience in that class of work, strenu- 
ously opposed any special measures being taken for carry- 
ing off the vent, and the mould, rammed within iron curbs 
which rested on the plate lugs outside the slings, was duly 
prepared for casting, leaving the vent-hole to take care of 
itself down at the bottom between the pit- wall and the 
curbs. As I had a decided objection to pouring a piece so 




Fig. 7 

inadequately vented, the foreman took the ladle and 
poured it with great pomp, exclaiming, as he passed on his 
way to the cupola, " I told you so ! " The words had 



Venting. 



510 



Venting. 



hardly escaped his lips when a most terrific explosion oc- 
curred. The mould and fastenings, being contained within 
the curbs, were lifted entirely from the floor and fell back 
again in a leaning position, scattering the runner in all 
directions. But, strange to relate, the casting was com- 



^ 



End Elevation at C. 




Fig. 8 

paratively uninjured, the fine gates having congealed in 
the interval. The foreman was very much surprised. 

When shallow pans are cast in casings or moulds sup- 
ported above the floor level no special venting is required, 
as the free circulation of air prevents any accumulation of 



Venting. 511 Venting. 

gases. A few shavings will serve to light at ODce the vents 
of deeper close-moulds cast after this manner, and the gas 
will burn away freely in the air. 

Brick walls of loam-work are best vented by choosing 
such material for the loam as will be sufficiently porous 
when dry to permit a free circulation of the gases out- 
wards, and this is why as much care should be practised in 
making the building-loam porous as there is for the facing- 
loam; otherwise, the gas must enter the mould and be 
forcibly ejected at the riser and runners. This is why 
tliere is such a rush of air at the moment vertically cast 
moulds are filled where no attention is given to this 
particular. All connections, such as branches, flanges, 
brackets, etc., should be vented direct with wires or straws, 
and these be carefully connected with the upright vents, 
which should in all cases be set at intervals around the 
mould when it is rammed in the pit. Gases generated in 
loam covering-plates may either pass through holes in the 
plate or be led to the edge by layers of straw set down at 
the bottom of the prickers before it is covered with loam. 
Core covering-plates for cylinders, condensers, cisterns, 
etc., are vented by means of holes cast therein to lead the 
gases inside the core. Flat brick surfaces need only to be 
openly built and the spaces filled with fine cinders, con- 
necting them with whatever means for outlet may be pro- 
vided. 

Dry-sand moulds, if they are made in suitable materials 
and well dried, require little or no venting, except in con- 
fiued parts that are remote from the ordinary means of 
exit for escaping gas. Projections of sand that are almost 
surrounded with metal, and such portions of the mould as 
are least likely to be dry, need some special venting — the 
former for the escape of gases, the latter for steam. If 
the ordinary coal-facing is used to make dry-sand moulds, 
then the venting needs to be in every respect as particular 



Vent- wire. 512 Vent- wire. 

as for green-sand. But if tlie facing be simply a refractory 
sharp sand with just sufficient clay and flour to make it 
cohesive, venting, as before stated, may be almost dis- 
pensed with. 

Venting-cores might be very much simplified if the sands 
used for making them were chosen with the view of meet- 
ing the necessities of every case; but too frequently they 
are chosen at haphazard, and every core is made from 
the same pile of sand, no matter what it may be required 
for. Cores that are difficult to vent on account of tlieir 
diminutiveness may sometimes be used successfully with- 
out vents if they are made from washed sand stiffened 
with a little glue-water. The reason for this is that the 
gas-producing substances are eradicated from the sand by 
washing, and the small quantity of glue required to make 
it cohesive is too slight to seriously affect it. 

While cores, generally speaking, may be considered as a 
kind of dry-sand mould, there must be every attention 
given to core-venting, as in the majority of cases they are 
surrounded with the molten metal, which drives the gases 
to the centre from all directions, and if instant egress is 
not given to this constant flow, the core is shattered and 
an eruption occurs within the mould. 



Vent-wire. — The wire with which a moulder pierces 
sand, in order to form passageways for the escape of gases. 
Large ones should be made fast to a crutch-handle, and 
the entering end for an inch high increased about -j^g inch 
in diameter and pointed. The point then pierces the sand 
easily, and forms a passage slightly larger than the wire ; 
which follows with little effort, there being comparatively 
no friction. Smaller wires will enter very freely if the end 
be simply cut off square across and perceptibly enlarged 
by a slight jumping. See Venti]S"g, 



Verdigris. 513 Vulcanite. 

VercligTis. — A very poisonous diacetate of copper, 
which forms in a green crust on its surface if exposed to a 
dauip atmosphere. It is useful in the arts as a pigment. 
See Copper. 

Vermilion, or mercuric suljihide, occurs native as 
cinnabar, a dull red mineral, which is the most important 
ore of mercury; bright red in color; has a good body, and 
is useful as a pigment for paints. See Mercury. 

Vertical Casting. — See Ordn"ance ; Oast-iron 
Pipes ; Horizontal Casting. 

Vinegar Bronze. — This is for brass goods, and con- 
sists of vinegar 10 galls., blue vitriol 3 lbs., muriatic acid 
3 lbs., corrosive sublimate 4 grains, sal-ammoniac 2 lbs., 
alum 8 ozs. See Bronze. 

Vitreous. — Resembling glass; pertaining to or con- 
sisting of glass. See Glassy; Slag. 

Vitrifiable. — Capable of being converted into glass 
by heat and fusion. See Flux ; Slag. 

Vitriol. — See Sulphuric Acid. 

Volatile. — A body is termed volatile when it is capa- 
ble of evaporating, or passing easily into an aeriform state, 
as alcohol, ether, etc. See Vapor ; Alcohol. 

Vulcanite, or ebonite, is caoutchouc mixed with half 
its weight of sulphur and hardened by pressure and heat- 
ing. It is very hard, takes a high polish, and is used 
extensively for the manufacture of buttons, knife-handles, 
and combs. See India-rubber. 



Wages Table. 



514 



Wages Table. 



w. 



Wages Table. 

Calculated on a Scale of Ten Hours' Labor per Day; the 
Time, in Hours and Days, is noted in the Left-hand 
Column, and the Amount of Wages under the Respec- 
tive Headings as noted below. 



Hours. 


$1.00 


$1.50 


$2 00 


$2.50 


$3.00 


$3.50 


$4.00 


$4.50 


$5.00 


$5.50 


$6.00 


Vq 


.01 


.OlM 


.012^ 


2 


.021^ 


.03 


.03i>^ 


.03% 


.04^ 


.on/, 


.05 


1 


.01!^ 


AYZU, 


.031^ 


.4 J 


.05 


.06 


:i3vl 


■om 


.081^ 


.09i 


.10 


2 


.08^ 


.05 


00*^ 


.81^ 


.10 


.11% 


.15 


.1*5% 


.20 


3 


,05 


.OlM 


.10 


A-^. 


.15 


.17^ 


.20 


.22«/9 


.25 


fM 


.30 


4 


.062/^ 


.10 


.13^ 


.162^ 


.20 


■ 2S}4 


.26% 


.30 


• aa^/s 


.40 


5 


.081^ 


.12k 


.1(52^ 


.21 


.25 


.294 


.331^ 


.3^2 


.412/^ 


.46 


.50 


6 


10 


15 


20 


.25 


.30 


.35 


.40 


.4b 


.50 


.55 


.60 


7 


.11% 


.17V. 


.22,\i 


.291.^ 


.35 


.41 




.52V^ 


■581^ 


.64^ 


.70 


8 


.131^ 


.20 


.26% 


.331^ 


.40 


.40% 


•53K 


.60 


.66% 


• ''■^% 


.80 


9 


.15 


.22^ 


.30 


•a-ys 


.45 


.521^ 


.60 


.6VH 


.75 


■ ^-Va 


.90 


Days. 

1 


.103^ 


.25 


.331^ 


.412^ 


.50 


..58M 


l"33S 


.75 


.831^ 


.91% 


1.00 


2 


33 rz 


.50 


.66% 


.831^ 


1.00 


1.16% 


1.50 


1.662/s 


1.83^ 


2.00 


3 


.50 


.75 


1,00 


1.25 


1.50 


1.75 


2.00 


2.25 


2.50 


2.75 


3.00 


4 


.663^ 


1.00 


1.331^ 


2'08H 


2.00 


2.33U 


3.333 


3.00 


IM 


3.66% 


4.00 


5 


.8.3^ 


1.25 


1.66% 


2.50 


2.91% 


3.75 


4.581^ 


5.00 


6 


1.00 


1.50 


2.00 


2.50 


3.00 


3.50 


4.00 


4.50 


5.00 


5.50 


6.00 



Hours. 


$6.50 


$7.00 


$7.50 


$8.00 


$9.00 


$10.00 


$11,00 


$12.00 


$13.00 


$14.00 


$1.5.00 


V2 


.0.5V 


.06 


.06k| 


.06% 


.07 V 


.08 V 


.09 


.10 


.11 


.12 


.12V 


1 


.11 


.11% 


.12V 


.13V 


.15 


.16% 


.18V 


.20 


.22 


.23 V 


.25 


2 


.212/s 


.23 V 


.25 


.20% 


.30 


.33 V 


.30% 


.40 


.43 V 


.46% 


.50 


3 


.32U 


35 


.37 V 


.40 


.45 


.50 


.55 


.60 


.65 


.70 


.75 


4 


.43V 


.462^ 


.50 


.53 V 


.60 


.66% 


.73 V 


.80 


.86% 


.9.3 V 


1 00 


5 


.54^ 


.5HV 


.62 V 


.66% 


.75 


.83 V 


.91% 


1.00 


1.08 V 


1.16% 


1.25 


6 


,65 


70 


.75 


.80 


.90 


1.00 


1.10 


1.20 


1.30 


1.40 


1.50 


7 


.76 


.812^ 


.87 V 


•93V 


1.05 


1.16% 
1-3.3V 


1.28 V 


1.40 


1.52 


1.63 V 


1.75 


8 




.93 V 


1.00 


1.06% 


1.20 


1.46% 


1.60 


1.V3V 


1.86% 


2.00 


9 


.97^ 


1.05 


1.1^^ 


1.20 


1.35 


1.50 


1.65 


1.80 


1 95 


2.10 


2.25 


Days. 
1 


1.08 V 


1.16% 
2 33V 


1.25 


1.3.3 V 


1.50 


1 66V 


1.83 V 


2.00 


2.17 


2.33 V 


2.50 


2 


2 16% 


2.50 


2.66% 


3.00 


3.33 V 


3 66% 


4 00 


4.34 


4.66% 


5.00 


3 


3 25 


3,50 


3.75 


4.00 


4.. 50 


5.00 


5 50 


6.00 


6.51 


6 99% 


7.. 50 


4 


4.33V 


4.662^ 


5.00 


5.. 33 V 


6 00 


6.60% 


7 33V 


8.00 


8.68 


9.33 


10.00 


5 


5.41% 


5.83 V 


6.25 


6.66% 


7.00 


8.33 V 


9.16% 


10.00 


10.85 


11.66V 


12. .50 


6 


6.50 


7.00 


7.50 


8.00 


9.00 


10.00 


11.00 


12.00 


13.00 


14.00 


15.00 



If the desired number of days or amount of wao^es is not in the table, double 
or treble any suitable number of days or amount of money, as the ease may be, 
until you obtain the desired number of days and the wages to correspond. 



Walker's Converter. 515 Waste-wax Process, 

Walker's Converter.— Tliis converter differs from 
the Bessemer and others in having a straight neck, so that 
it can be charged or poured from either side. This equal- 
izes the wear on the lining. See Bessemer Steel. 

Wall-cranes are a very handy and important addition 
to the foundry or the forge. They can be arranged so 
that the large jib or traveller will pass over them in tlie 
performance of the heaviest work, leaving the moulders 
engaged on the light and medium classes of moulding to 
continue their operations uninterruptedly. See Cranes. 

Warping'of Castings.— See Straightening Cast- 
ings. 

Wash for Cores. — See Core-wash. 

Washing". — When a loam-moulder moistens the hard- 
ened surface of his mould with water, preparatory to chins- 
ing and finishing with the tools, the process is termed 
luashing. If some portion of a mould is carried away by a 
current of metal running violently over it, it is said to be 
washed off. See Fountain Runner. 

Waste Gases. — The most efficient mode of utilizing 
the waste heat from puddling and other furnaces is the 
regenerative-gas furnace, where it is applied to raise both 
the gas fuel and the air for burning it to a high tempera- 
ture previous to their meeting at the point of combustion. 
See Regenerative Furnace. 

Waster. — A bad casting, so called, in some localities. 

Waste-wax Process.— Making statuary, figures, 
etc., by melting out a wax model of the object, which has 



Water. 51 G Water-bellows. 

been previously encased in loam or composition, and filling 
the space with molten metal. See Cire Perdue; Statue- 

FOUI^DIN^G. 

Water is a compound of 8 parts by weight of oxygen 
with one of hydrogen ; by bulk it is 1 of oxygen to 2 of 
hydrogen, and is present in nature in three forms — solid, 
liquid, and gaseous. It is transparent, tasteless, and in- 
odorous. It evaporates at all temperatures, boils at 212°, 
and freezes at 32°. At 60° a cubic inch of pure water 
weighs 252.45 grains — exactly 815 times the weight of an 
equal bulk of air. The American standard gallon weighs 
58,970 grains of pure distilled water at the maximum density 
of 484. The weight of an imperial gallon is 70,000 grains, 
or 10 pounds. 

A cubic foot of water is taken at 1000 ounces, and 62.5 
pounds for convenience in reckoning; but the actual weight 
is 998.068 ounces, or 62.37925 pounds avoirdupois. 

Water expands jyVt ^^ i^^ bulk in freezing. 

The height of a column of water at 60°, equivalent to 
the pressure of 1 pound per square inch, is 2.30 feet, and 
the height of atmosphere is 33.94 feet. The number of 
cubic feet in a ton of water is 35.84, and a cubic foot of 
sea-water weighs 64.31 pounds. See Hydrogei^". 

Water-bellows. — A blast-machine consisting of two 
cisterns partly filled with water, in which are placed the 
induction and eduction pipes, both standing a little above 
the water. Inverted chambers suspended on the ends of a 
working-beam inclose the pipes within the cisterns, and 
as each chamber is made to rise alternately the air is drawn 
up through the induction-pipe into the chamber, and ex- 
pelled at the eduction-pipe by means of suitable valves; 
the valve being at the top for induction, at the bottom for 
eduction. 



X/cit;.- '^oshes. 517 Water-jacketed Cupola. 

Wciter-boslies. — Hollow cast-iron boshes or chambers, 
through which a constant supply of water is made to circu- 
late, to prevent overheating and consequent fusion. See 
Finery Furnace; Tymp. 

Water-core Barrel. — See Ordnance. 

Waterfall Blower.— See Tromp. 

Water-gas is gas produced by passing steam over red- 
hot coke, which changes it to carbonic oxide and hydro- 
gen, in which state it is made to absorb as much carbon as 
is necessary, by passing through a retort in which rosin is 
being subjected to the process of decomposition. See 
Gas. 

Water-glass is usually prepared by boiling silica with 
caustic alkali under pressure. It is soluble only in boil- 
ing water, and has the appearance of glass when pure and 
solid. See Soluble Glass. 

Water-jacketed Cupola.— The Keims cupola is 
jacketed, and is described by the inventor as follows: In 
this new cupola there is no burning out at or about the 
tuyeres; there are no clinkers to be chipped off daily, and 
repairs to be made before another heat can be run; and the 
bottom need not be dropped for months, if you so desire. 
To accomplish these results the inventor uses a three- foot 
water-jacket, with the tuyeres placed as near the bottom 
of the jacket as possible; the blast being upward, and the 
jacket not allowing anything to adhere to it, prevents 
burning out or clinking. The lower portion is part and 
parcel of the jacket (but not water-jacketed), and is lined 
with fire-brick, so as to retain the heat in the metal well 



Water-proof Glue. 518 Water-proof Polisli. 

and to prevent chilling. This improved bottom and jacket 
may be used in connection with the old cupolas now in 
use by simply taking off enough of the bottom of the old 
in which to insert the new, thus avoiding any great ex- 
pense in making the change. As there is no hanging or 
clogging in this cupola, the blast has perfect circulation 
throughout the entire mass that is to be melted, and so is 
a great fuel- saver, as every particle of fuel is used to 
the best advant^ige. As the heat of the jacket can- 
not be raised above 240° Fahrenheit, it will readily be 
seen that there will be no burning out, and that with 
ordinary care a jacket will last as long as a steel boiler; 
for the whole arrangement is made of ^-inch steel plate, 
and as the overflow is higher than the jacket, it would 
be only through gross negligence if it should burn. In 
fact, the jacket would be the coldest point as long 
as any water remained. The metal produced is of 
the best quality, and has a ring almost equal to bell- 
metal. 

Water-pipes.— See Cast-iron Pipes. 

Water-proof Cement.— See Cement. 

Water-proof Glue. — Melt common glue with the 
smallest quantity of water possible; add by degrees dry- 
ing or boiled linseed oil. The ingredients must be 
well stirred while the oil is being added. See Glue; 
Cement. 

Water-proof Polisli. — Alcohol 1 pint, gum-ben- m 
zoin 2 oz., gum-sandarach J oz., gum-anime ^ oz. ; 
put these in a stoppered bottle, and set in a hot-water or 



Water-sprinkler. ol9 Weathering Ore. 

sand-bath until dissolved; then strain and add | gill of 
best poppy-oil, and shake well together. 

Water-sprinkler. — See Sprii^klii^g-pot. 

Water-tuyere.— This class of tuyere is used at the 
blast-furnaces to protect the walls of the hearth from the 
intense heat that is generated by the hot blast in the 
neighborhood of the tuyeres. They are of various kinds; 
some being rectangular in section and made of either cast 
or wrought iron or bronze, while others are simply a spiral 
tube, used alone or cast within a solid block. This tuyere 
is kept cool by a circulating current of water. 

Wax. — Beeswax is a secretion of the honey-bee. In its 
ordinary state it is yellow, but is bleached white by expos- 
ing it for some time in thin slices to the joint action of air 
and moisture. 

Modellers' wax consists of beeswax 13, rosin 12, paraffin- 
wax 26, linseed-oil 4; the rosin and oil to be well boiled 
together before adding the other ingredients. 

Sculptors' wax is composed of one part each of tallow, 
turpentine, and pitch to ten parts of beeswax. See Vege- 
table Wax. 

Wax-modelling^. — See Statue-foundikg. 

Weatliering Ore. — Such ores of iron as contain 
pyrites or shale in a large proportion are subjected, before 
calcination, to the action of the atmosphere and moisture, 
by which means the sulphur is oxidized and dissolved out 
by the rains. Being spread on the ground in the open air 
the process is called weathering. See Calcination; Cast 
Iron; Kiln. 



Web smoother. &20 Weigliting Copes. 

Web-smootlier.— See Slicker. 

Wedge is one of the meclumical powers which, in 
principle, is simply a modification of the inclined plane. 
This implement, simple as it is, constitutes one of the 
most important tools in foundry practice. It is made 
of wood and cast iron, but the latter kind is to be depre- 
cated, because of its liability to snap. Wrought-iron 
wedges, loell taken care of, are a good investment in any 
foundry. 

Wedgwood-ware. — Porcelain made by the firm 
of Wedgwood at Burslum, Staffordshire, England. Josiah 
Wedgwood created the art in Britain. See Pottery- 
moulding. 

Weig'hing-scales. — A more active and intelligent 
practice in foundry operations has made weighing-scales 
a prime necessity on the charging -platform. With- 
out accuracy in charging-material it is useless to expect 
uniformity of mixture, and the result is invariably a 
marked failure wherever the quantities of materials in- 
troduced are left to the furnaceman^s judgment; the latter 
word being, in this instance, a misnomer, as the fact of 
being without scales evidences a lack of sound judgment. 
See Ratio of Fuel to Iron; Charge; Cupola. 

Weighting Copes. — This operation consists in 
placing as much weight upon copes as will hold them 
down securely, independent of any other means, such as 
bolting, binding, clamping, etc., when the pressure of 
molten metal tends to lift or force them upwards, such 
pressure (per square inch) being alwa3^s proportionate to 
the depth from the metal's surface in the runner-basin 



Weights of Castings. 521 Weights of Metals. 

to the cope's surface below. The total pressure is tlie 
amount per square inch multiplied into the area. For 
example, a cope covering a plate -1 feet square is 9 inches 
deep, and the runner-basin adds 9 inches more, making 18 
inches in all. Now, as 18 inches pressure is exerted on 
every inch of the plate while the metal remains liquid, it 
only remains to ascertain what pressure a vertical column 
1 inch square and 18 inches high exerts, — in otlier ivords, to 
-find the weight of such a column, and multiply it into the 
area, — to discover what weight is required to hold the cope 
down; as, 18 X .26 {the weight of a cubic inch of cast iro)i) 
equals 4.68 pounds pressure on each inch, which, when 
multiplied into the total area, 48 X 48, equals 2304 
inches; which, again, multiplied by 4.68 pounds, gives 
10,782 pounds as the total pressure. Hence exactl}'- that 
amount of weight, including the cope's weight, would be 
required to balance the pressure exerted against it, unless 
the head of pressure be cut off hy a system of risers, to 
relieve it at some antecedent point below. When the full 
head of pressure is imposed some extra weight is needed, 
as fins, gate-surfaces, etc., act in proportion to their area, 
and the possibility of shock is a contingency that will 
always be adequately provided for by the wise moulder. 
See Cut-off; Risers; Pressure of MoLTEiq- Metal; 
Hydraulics; Hydrostatic Bellows. 



Weights of Casting's. — To ascertain the weight of 
a casting in any of the various metals, obtain, first, the 
number of cubic inches contained in the casting, and then 
multiply that number by the weight of a cubic inch of the 
metal employed. For the weights of various metals, cubic 
inch and cubic foot, see Weights of Metals. 

Weights of Metals. — The followinor table shows 



Welding. 



o2'2 



the weight of a cubic inch and 
metals; nlso specific gravity: 



"Welding, 
cubic foot of different 



Metals. 



Ciist irou 

Wrought iron. 

Steel 

Gold, cast .... 
Silver, cast . . 
Copper, cast . . 
Tin, block. . . . 
Zinc, cast 

Br-iss ^ ^^^l^P^^' 
^^'^^^ i zinc 1 

Lead, cast 

Aluminum 

B-- \ SZl 1 

Bronze i-Ppl" 



Weight of 
One Cubic Inch. 



Pounds. 
.263 
.281 
.283 
.696 
.378 
.317 
.263 
.248 

.282 

.410 
.092 

.272 
.309 



Weight of 
One Cubic Foot. 



Pounds. 

450 

486 

490 
1,210 

654 

540 

455 

437 

525 

710 
160 

480 
535 



Specific 
Gravity. 



7.207 
7.788 
7.833 
19.258 
10.474 
8.788 
7.291 
6.861 

7.820 

11.352 
2.560 

7.680 
8.560 



Weldings is the union produced between the surfaces 
of two malleable metals when they have been heated to 
fushion and rolled, pressed, or hammered. Few metals 
are susceptible to this process; but iron is the principal 
weldable metal. To prevent oxidation of the surfaces, 
when the pieces to be welded are taken from the fire they 
they are sometimes sprinkled with sand or some other sub- 
stance, which fuses and spreads over the heated surface. 
Borax alone is employed for steel at times, but preference 
is given to certain compositions which are considered to 
favor a more intimate joining of the pieces. One composi- 
tion for either iron or steel, or both together, is to calcine 
and pulverize together 100 parts iron or steel filings, 10 
sal-ammoniac, 6 borax, 5 balsam of copaiba. One of the 
pieces is to be heated red, carefully cleaned of scale, tlie 
composition is to be spread upon it, and the other piece 



Wet-blacking. 523 White Alioys. 

applied at a white heat and welded with the hammer. 
Another: Fuse borax witli one sixteenth its weidit of sal- 

o 

ammoniac; cool, pulverize, and mix with an eqnal weight 
of quicklime, when it is to be sprinkled on the red-hot 
iron and the latter placed in the fire. A German powder 
is : Iron-turnings 4, borax 3, borate of iron 2, water 1. See 
Solderi:n^g; Brazing; Burnij^g. 

Wet-blacking is composed of water mixed with clay 
in varying proportions, along with one or more of the car- 
bon-facings. See Black-wash. 

Wheelbarrows.— There is now an almost infinite 
variety of wheelbarrows, manufactured and ready to hand, 
including steel foundry-barrows, steel square trays, pig- 
iron barrows with one or two wheels, charging-barrows for 
blast-furnaces and gas-retorts, etc., always in stock at the 
foundry-supply dealers. 

Wheel-moulding Machines.— See Moulding- 
machines. 

Wheel-pits.— See Car- wheels. 

Whetstone. — A hone or smooth flat stone for sharp- 
ening edge-tools. See Turkey-stone. 

Whip-hoist. — A small single block-and-tackle for 
quick hoisting of light loads. See Cranes. 

Whirling-rnnner. — See Skim-gate. 

White Alloys are all such alloys as tutenag, packfong, 
British-plate, German-silver, etc., which are usually com- 
pounded with the view of imitating the more costly metal — 



White Argentan. 524 White Argentaii. 

silver. They differ in quality and price, according to their 
composition. Nickel is tlie whitening as well as the harden- 
ing metal used in these alloys, and the amount entering 
into their composition varies according to quality.. The 
lower grades of nickel alloys contain about nickel 4, cop- 
per 20, zinc 16, while the better qualities may have nickel 
6, copper 20, zinc 8. Such alloys are suitable for plated 
ware, mathematical instruments, parts of musical instru- 
ments, saddlery, etc. 

The white copper of the Chinese, which bears a close re- 
semblance to some German-silver, contains nickel 31.6, 
copper 40.4, zinc 25.4, iron 2.6. It may be surmised that 
the iron sometimes found in these white alloys has been 
accidentally introduced with the nickel, but when the 
quantity is small it is not prejudicial. Frick^s silver is an 
imitation composed of nickel 17.48, copper 53.39, zinc 13. 

When tin is used for hardening and whitening alloys, we 
obtain inferior white alloys, as Britannia metal, pewter, 
solders, etc. The best pewter is mostly composed of tin 
with a small percentage of copper, yet if not more than 
one sixth of lead be added the alloy will be white, hard, 
and sonorous, but without gloss. A little antimony adds 
both to the whiteness and the hardness of the tin alloys. 

For a description of the principal white alloys now in use, 
see Mock Silver; Speculum Metal; Germak-silver; 
German White Copper; Packfokg; Imitation Silver; 
White Argentan; Tutenag; Parisian White Metal; 
Queen's Metal ; Spanish Tutania ; German Tutania ; 
Pewter; Britannia Metal; Pewterer's Temper; Sol- 
ders; Babbitt-metal; Type-metal; Shot; Pot-metal; 
Fusible Alloys. 

White Argentan. — A beautiful silver imitation ; 
nickel 3, copper 8, zinc 35. See Silver ; German-silver ; 
Britannia Metal. 



White Arsenic. 525 White Rubber. 

White Arsenic. — Arseuious acid, or oxide of arseuic. 
See Arsenic. 

White Brass, — A term used for white alloys. See 
White Alloys. 

Wliite Copper. — For this mixture see White Al- 
loys. 

Wliite Copperas.— Copperas of sulphate of irou, 
found iu Chili. 

Wliite-flux.— See Flux ; Black-flux. 

Wliite Iron.— See Hard Cast Iron; Cast Iron. 

White Lead. — The carbonate of lead. It is produced 
by several methods, and extensively employed as a paint. 
The Dutch method, usually considered a good one, is to 
place thin sheets of lead rolled into scrolls into earthen 
pots with weak vinegar or acetic acid. These are fitted 
with lead covers and closely packed, and buried in spent 
tan-bark. The acid corrodes the metal, forming a coating 
of acetate of lead. The carbonic acid set free by the de- 
composing vegetable matter displaces the acetic acid, com- 
bines with the lead, and the carbonate is formed. The 
acetic acid thus released attacks more metal, which is 
again carbonized, and thus, with occasional charges of 
yinegar, the operation is continued and the lead keeps 
constantly changing. See Lead. 

White Metals.— See White Alloys. 

White Rubber.— White vulcanite, made by adding 
white pigments to the sulphur and caoutchouc during the 
manufacture of vulcanite. See India-rubber. 



White Sand. 526 Whiting Cupola. 

White Sand. — The silver-sand is a white sand, and 
results from the disintegration of soft, pure, siliceous 
sandstone. Beach-sand in some localities is also a white 
sand, but not so pure as silver-sand, as it invariably con- 
tains more or less of other substances, besides being some- 
what calcareous from the presence of carbonate of lime, 
rendering it inferior to silver-sand in refractoriness. See 
Sand ; Facing-sand; Core-sand. 

White Tombac— See Tombac. 

Whitewash. — Slake the lime in boiling water, and 
to 3 gallons of whitewash add 1 pint of molasses and 1 
pint of salt, well stirred when adding the ingredients. 
Good for fences and out-door buildings. An excellent fire- 
proof whitewash is made by adding to every 5 parts of 
whitewash 1 part of potash. Soak glue, J pound, over 
night in tepid water; on the next day place it in a tin 
vessel with water 1 quart; boil, and stir till the glue dis- 
solves. Next put 7 pounds Paris white (sulphate of baryta) 
into another vessel, add hot water, and stir until it becomes 
milky. Add the sizing, stir well, and ap2:)ly with a kalso- 
miner's fine brush. This is nearly equal to kalsomine 
made from zinc-white. See Lime; Zinc-white. 

Whiting^. — Chalk levigated and cleaned from all 
foreign substances: then made into cakes and dried. See 
Lime; Chalk. 

Whiting Cupola. — A patented cupola manufactured 
by the Detroit Foundry Equipment Company, Detroit, 
Mich. Among many special excellences claimed for this 
cupola are the following: (the special features over other 
cupolas are largely in the arrangement and construction of 
the patent tuyeres): ^^ There are two rows of tuyeres. 



VViuch. 527 Wind furnaces. 

The lower ones are jin-anged to form what is practi- 
cally ail annular air inlet, thus distributing the blast 
almost continuously around the entire inner circumference 
of the cupola. These tuyeres are constructed in such a 
way that the blast is admitted through the small end, 
which is expanded into a large horizontal opening. This 
allows the blast to reach the iron through an opening 
nearly double the area of that through which it enters, 
thereby admitting the same volume of blast, but soften- 
ing its force. The result is a better, softer, and more 
fluid iron, even in quality and easy to work. A sharp, 
uneven blast destroys the best qualities of iron. The 
cupola has an upper row of smaller tuyeres of similar 
construction, and of sufficient size to furnish air to util- 
ize the escaping carbon gas. As we employ a slag-hole, 
the melting in our cupola may be continued indefinitely." 

Wliitworth's Compressed Steel.— See Press- 
ii^G-FLUiD Steel. 

Winch. — The common winch for well purposes is 
simply an axle on which the rope is wound by means of a 
crank at one or both ends. For heavier purposes, gearing 
is employed in their construction, to obtain an increased 
power. See Steam-wij^ch. 

Wiiicl-I)OX. — The encircling belt of a cupola which 
incloses all the tuyeres. See Cupola. 

Wind-furnaces are air-furnaces which, instead of 
being urged by a blast-machine, blower, or fan, depend 
on a natural draft, which is usually induced by connecting 
the flue with a long chimney, as in brass and reverber- 
atory furnaces. See Brass-furnace; Reverberatory 
Furnace. 



Wiped Joint. 538 Wire Rope. 

Wiped Joint. — So called by plumbers wlieii the sol- 
der is left in a mass around a lead joint and smoothed^ 
tapering each way, with a cloth pad. 

Wipes.— See Tilt-hammee; Trip-hammer. 

Wire. — In order that a wire may be drawn, it is neces- 
sary that the metal should be ductile. Gold, silver, steel, 
iron, copper, and their several compounds have this prop- 
erty. Iron is prepared by heating the rods and re-rolling 
down to a size suitable for the draw-plate, consisting of an 
oblong piece of hard steel pierced with conical holes, pro- 
gressively smaller and smaller. The pointed end of the 
metal, being passed through one of them, is forcibly with- 
drawn by strong pincers, or by means of a reel which con- 
tains the wire to be drawn, from which it is forcibly un- 
wound by a conical drum having a hook to receive the 
previously reduced end of the wire after it has been passed 
through the draw-plate. The drum is made to revolve by 
suitable machinery. For some very fine and accurate pur- 
poses jewelled holes are prepared in the plates consisting 
of rubies and similar hard stones. See Telegraph and 
Telephon-e Wire. 

Wire Clotli. — The business is now so well perfected 
as to make it a matter of the least difficulty to obtain from 
manufacturers every conceivable variety of this fabric. 
They weave all the grades of iron and steel wire cloths, 
from the finest and lightest hardware grade to the coarsest 
and heaviest coal aud mining grades; also, all the different 
kinds of brass, copper, and galvanized cloths for any of the 
various purposes for which wire cloths are used. 

Wire Rope is steel or iron wire twisted into ropes. 
When great pliability is required it is customary to make 



Wollram. 529 Wood-spirit 

the centre of hemp, especially the smaller-sized ropes. A 
reel should always be used for stowing wire rope, and as a 
protection against rust the rope should bo occasionally tarred 
or painted. Short bends should be carefully avoided; 
and, while wire rope of similar strength to hemp will run 
on sheaves of the same diameter, it is always preferable to 
have larger ones, as the rope will wear longer. The rela- 
tive dimensions of hemp cable and of wire rope are as 
follows, the figures denoting circumference in inches: 

Hemp.... 3. 4, 5, 5^, 6, 6f, li, 8, 9, 10, 10^, 11, 12. 
Wire If, 3i, 3f. 3, 3i, 3|, 4, 4|, 4|, 5^, 5f, 6, Qh 

Wolfram. — Tungstate of protoxide of iron; occurs in 
Cornwall, in the Bohemian tin-mines, and in Siberia. Its 
composition is tungstic acid 78.77, protoxide of iron 18.32, 
protoxide of manganese 6.22, silex 1.25. See Tukgsten. 

Wood-flasks.— See Flasks. 

Wootl-screw. — A moulder's device for making fast to 
a pattern, consisting of an ordinary screw connected by 
welding to a stem, with an eye turned and welded to the 
body. A small hole is bored, which admits the screw with- 
out splitting the pattern, and the eye serves as a handle 
by which to turn the screw and lift the pattern. See 
Spike. 

Wood-spirit.— Wood naphtha; is a product of the 
distillation of wood. Chiefly used for dissolving the rosins 
in making varnish. It is also called methylic alcohol. 
See Naphtha. 



Wootz-steel.— See India Cast Steel. 



Worm-geared Ladle. 530 Yard. 

Worm-geared Ladle. — A crane-ladle geared with 
an endless screw and a spiral toothed wheel. The screw 
or worm being made to turn in a fixing attached to the 
bail, transmits motion to the axis of the ladle by means 
of a spiral toothed wheel keyed thereon. See Crane- 
ladles; Ladles. 

Wrench. — A tool having jaws, adjustable or fixed, for 
gripping nuts or the heads of bolts, to turn them. There 
is a great variety of these implements, but those made 
from a piece of round twisted steel, with fixed and loose 
jaws and nut, are perhaps the best for general purposes, 
especially in the foundry. The Ac7ne Wrench is of this 
description, and is defined as follows : 

1st. Being made of only four pieces of steel, where other 
wrenches are composed of from seven to nine pieces, the 
wearing qualities are obvious. 

2d. It has no handle to get lo6se or soak with oil. 

3d. Having two slides, it is very much stronger. 

4th. The thread in the nut is about twice as long as in 
the ordinary wrench; consequently there will never be the 
same amount of play in the slides, or stripping of thread. 

5th. The jaws open one eighth wider than any other 
wrench of corresponding size. 

6th. It is steel, and the jaws are hardened. 

Written Impressions on Cast Iron. — See 

Handwriting Impressions on Oast Iron. 

Wrought Iron.— See Malleable Iron. 



Yard. — The standard measure of linear dimension. 
It is subdivided into feet and inches. Three feet are con- 
tained in one yard, and each foot = 12 inches, 



Yellow Brass. 531 Yoke. 

Yellow Brass. — Briglit-yelloto brass or Bristol-sheet 
is composed of copper 16, zinc 6. Copper 10 and zinc 5 
is Dutch alloy, which is a deeper yellow; and a very deep 
yelloiv, called pinchbeck, semilovy and hath-meial, is com- 
posed of copper 16, zinc 4. Good yellow-brass wire is cop- 
per 16, zinc 7; and good ordinary brass, bright yelloiu, is 
copper 16, zinc 8. Copper 16, zinc 9 makes a full yelloiu 
brass, usually called Muntz's extretne. Sheathing is com- 
posed of copper 16, zinc 10; and ajmle?' yelloiv is copper 16, 
zinc 12, which is a good solder for copper or iron. Pale- 
yellow dipjnng-hrass is composed of copper 16, zinc 14. 
Yellow brass is made sensibly harder by adding from \ to |- 
oz. of tin, and from J to ^^ oz. of lead increases its mallea- 
bility and makes it more fluid. These proportions are to 
the pound of mixed brass. 

Yellow Dipping-metal.— Copper 32 pounds, ::inc 
2 pounds, soft solder 2| ounces. For soft-solder mixture. 
See Solder. See Dipping. 

Yellow Iron Pyrites, or Sulphuret of Iron, is brass- 
yellow in color; occurs crystallized, capillary, massive, dis- 
seminated, and cellular; it is hard, brittle, and lustrous. 
This snlphuret is often very beautiful, having crystals, 
resembling burnished gold, from the size of a small grain 
up to two inches diameter. Fusible, with a strong odor of 
sulphur, into a magnetic globule. Com position : iron 47.85, 
sulphur 52.15; specific gravity 4.8. See Sulphur. 

Yielding-platen Moulding-macliine. — See 

Moulding-machines. 

Yoke. — A name in some localities for the bail of a 
crane-ladle. See Bail. 



Yttrium. 532 Zinc. 

Yttrium. — This metal was discovered by Wohler in 
1828. It is a very rare metal, dark gray in color, and very 
brittle. See Metals. 



Z. 

Zinc. — A brilliant bluisli-wliite metal, found in nature 
in combination with sulphur as zinc blende, and with 
oxygen and carbonic acid as calamine. Great quantities 
of red oxide are found in New Jersey. It is a brittle metal 
at common temperatures, but when heated from 212° to 
300° it may be rolled out into thin sheets, and retains its 
malleability when cold. It again becomes brittle at 400°, 
and melts at 741°; taking fire if exposed to the air, and 
emitting a whitish-green flame as it burns, forming the 
oxide of zinc. This metal tarnishes readily in a moist 
atmosphere, and forms a film of oxide which resists further 
change. This property is what makes this metal so valu- 
able for gas-pipes, roofing, and for galvanizing iron. It 
prevents oxidation of the metals on which it is applied. See 
Galvanized Iron. 

The native carbonate, or calamine, is the most valuable 
of the zinc ores. It is first roasted to exjoel water and 
carbonic acid, then mixed with fragments of coke or char- 
coal, and distilled at a full red heat in an earthen retort; 
carbonic acid escapes, while the reduced metal volatilizes, 
and is condensed, generally mixed with minute portions of 
arsenic. 

When zinc forms a component part of any alloy, a better 
mixture is obtained by melting the zinc separatel}^, and 
pouring it into a ladle containing the melted copper, 
through a hole in the cover. This is done to prevent 
the rapid oxidation of the zinc ; for if this is done 
without excluding the air, the zinc volatilizes very 
quickly and with violence, throwing off vapors which burn 



Zinc-coating. 533 Zinc coating. 

and produce an immense quantity of oxide, which falls 
down in flakes. 

When zinc is not more than from 35 to 40 per cent of a 
mixture with copper, the alloy retains its malleability and 
ductility. Beyond this proportion it assumes the crystalline 
state, until at zinc 2, copper 1 the alloy may be crumbled 
in a mortar. 

Bronze alloys are improved by the addition of a small 
proportion of zinc : their malleability is increased, with little 
or no diminution in the hardness; besides which it assists 
materially in the mixing. 

It is certain that zinc and copper alloys form a more 
perfect chemical union than the alloys of lead with cop- 
per or tin with copper. 

Zinc is caused to combine with lead by the admixture of 
a third alloy, arsenic; but, like other alloys with arsenic, it 
becomes very brittle, and almost useless. 

Zinc combines with tin to form a hard brittle alloy, not 
of much use commercially. 

Old zinc plate, etc., assumes the crystalline state again 
when remelted. 

A small proportion of zinc will render gold brittle; zinc 
vapors alone sensibly affect gold in fusion. Gold 10, zinc 
1 makes a brittle alloy, the color of brass ; and gold 10, 
zinc 5 makes a white, hard alloy, suscieptible of a high 
degree of polish. 

Very few of the zinc alloys, except those with copper to 
form brass alloys, are of much service ; and the maximum 
of strength in the latter is obtained when the alloy contains 
about 44 per cent of zinc. See Copper; Foktaine- 
MOREAU^s Bronzes. 

Zinc-coating. — Copper and brass articles may be 
permanently coated with a layer of pure zinc by boiling 



Zinc, Reducing the Oxide of. 534 Zinc, To Purify. 

them in a solution of chloride of zinc, with an excess of 
zinc-turnings present in the solution. 

Gray-iron castings may be coated or galvanized by first 
cleaning them by abrasion with sand in a tumbling-barrel, 
then heating and plunging them separately, while hot, in 
a liquid composed of hydrochloric acid 10 lbs., and suf- 
ficient sheet lead to make a saturated solution. In making 
this solution, add sulphate of ammonia 1 lb., when the 
evolution of gas has ceased. If the castings are hot enough 
after dipping them in this solution they will dry almost in- 
stantly, leaving a crystallized surface of zinc. They must 
now be placed in a bath of melted zinc over which, after 
skimming, some powdered sal-ammoniac has been thrown 
to prevent further oxidation. Small articles can be 
lowered into the bath in a wire basket, lifted out, the 
superfluous metal shaken off, and then cast into water. 

Ziiic-i)lating.— See Galvanized Iron. 

Zinc, Reducing the Oxide of. — Have a large pot 
that will hold about five hundred pounds of the oxide; 
place it over the fire and fill it with the dross, etc.; then 
pour sufficient muriatic acid over the top to act as a flux. 
The action of the fire will melt the dross, and the pure 
metal will fall to the bottom. 

Zinc, To Purify. — Granulate zinc by melting, and 
while very hot, pouring it into a deep vessel filled with 
water. Put the granulated zinc in alternate layers with 
one fourth its weight of nitre in a Hessian crucible, and 
with an excess of nitre on the top. The crucible must be 
covered and the lid secured; then apply the heat. When 
deflagration takes place the crucible can be taken out, the 
metal freed from slag, and poured. Zinc treated thus is 
freed from arsenic and other impurities. 



Zinc white. 535 Zinc- white. 

Ziiic-wliite, or zincic oxide, is a strong base, forming 
salts isomorphous with the magnesian salts. It is prepared 
either by burning zinc in atmospheric air or by heating the 
carbonate to redness. Under the name of zinc-white it is 
frequently substituted for white lead as a pigment for 
paints. It is prepared on a large scale by volatilizing 
metallic zinc in earthen muffles, the vapor from thence 
passing into a receiver, where, coming in contact with a 
current of air, it is oxidized. The oxide, being a light 
woolly substance, is carried along tubes to the condensing- 
chamber, where it falls as a fine powder, or zinc- white. 



414- 9 
















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